West Virginia's Two U.S. Attorneys Create Mountain State Fraud and Diversion Task Force
U.S. Attorney Moore Capito of the Southern District of West Virginia and U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey of the Northern District of West Virginia announced that they have joined with federal, state and local partners to create the Mountain State Fraud and Diversion Task Force to combat fraud across West Virginia. The task force held its inaugural meeting at the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) facility in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
The Department of Justice said fraud costs consumers up to $500 billion annually, raising the costs of insurance premiums, health care and other goods, and depleting victims' retirement funds and savings across the country. Capito said his first year as U.S. Attorney made clear how serious a threat fraud poses to West Virginians and that fighting it requires working together across the state. Ahead of the inaugural meeting, the two offices held a series of roundtables with local prosecutors and law enforcement officers across the district to learn how fraud is affecting their communities.
Harvey said fraud comes with too high a cost for the average American, and that West Virginians work too hard to lose money to fraudsters. The task force will collaborate to fight fraud in every corner, from health care to insurance to tax to personal fraud, he said, adding that those who scheme will be found, charged and convicted.
The task force comprises both U.S. Attorney's Offices in West Virginia, federal, state and local law enforcement, and the West Virginia Attorney General's Office, and plans to meet twice a year. At the inaugural meeting, attorneys from both offices shared their day-to-day anti-fraud work and money recovered, the National Fraud Detection Center spoke about trends, investigative techniques and resources, and the National Fraud Enforcement Division shared information about its mission, partnerships, analytics and asset recovery resources.
Leaders of several federal law enforcement agencies voiced support in the release. Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Louisville Field Division, said the DEA will work to ensure the closed loop of the legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain remains intact. Shawn Rice, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General, said fraud schemes are becoming increasingly complex, crossing jurisdictions and affecting multiple agencies, making collaboration essential. Kareem A. Carter, Executive Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation's Washington, D.C., Field Office, said IRS-CI agents are known for lending financial and tax expertise to complex investigations and will work with partners to investigate, dismantle and hold accountable those who perpetrate fraud.
The release also noted that on April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the formation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, which focuses on investigating and prosecuting fraud against the American public, and that the effort supports the President's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government initiative chaired by the Vice President to address fraud, waste and abuse in federal benefit programs.
(Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of West Virginia)
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of West Virginia
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部大楼。GSM 固定图库。 / Photo: The U.S. Department of Justice headquarters. GSM asset library.
