Federal prosecutors in San Juan have formed a fraud task force that brings the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, nine federal inspectors general and Puerto Rico’s Justice Department together to pursue fraud against government programs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico announced Friday.
Acting U.S. Attorney Héctor Ramírez Carbó announced the Puerto Rico Interagency Fraud Enforcement Task Force a day after hosting its first meeting on Oct. 15 at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The office said the group’s mission is to deter fraud, waste and abuse of federal funds and ensure that federal programs reach the people they are meant to serve.
“Fraud targeting federal government programs steals from taxpayers and deprives intended recipients of essential resources, weakening the impact of programs meant to serve the public,” Ramírez Carbó said. He said his office and its partners would apply “every criminal, civil, and administrative tool” available to uncover fraud and hold offenders accountable.
The first meeting focused on sharing intelligence and data among agencies, identifying fraud schemes, analyzing investigative leads and steering law enforcement resources toward significant schemes, the office said. The announcement did not name any cases or targets.
The agencies
The federal members are the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, along with IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the offices of inspector general for the Postal Service, Health and Human Services, the Small Business Administration, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Labor, Agriculture, the Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs.
The Puerto Rico partners are the Department of Justice, its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Puerto Rico Inspector General. The office filed the release under benefit, COVID-related, disaster, financial, health care and mortgage fraud.
The national Fraud Division
The task force is part of a nationwide Justice Department initiative that includes the creation of a National Fraud Enforcement Division to improve coordination among federal agencies, the office said.
Federal cases involving Puerto Rico government employees have moved forward this year, including guilty pleas by three Hacienda employees in bribery or fraud cases.
Related coverage: Third Hacienda Employee Pleads Guilty as Bribery Schemes Top $14 Million
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Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.
