Top DOJ Official Shares Statistics Showing Surge in False Claims Act Trade Fraud Investigations

In remarks last week at the American Conference Institute’s Advanced Forum on False Claims and Qui Tam Enforcement, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) top civil fraud enforcement official, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brenna Jenny, reported new numbers that reveal a marked increase in new DOJ False Claims Act (FCA) customs fraud investigations. According to Jenny:

• Last year, DOJ saw the largest number in any single year of new FCA whistleblower complaints, also called qui tam actions, alleging duty evasion.
• New whistleblower complaints for duty evasion increased by more than 50% above prior years.
• DOJ also saw the highest number of FCA customs and trade fraud settlements in a single year.

Jenny highlighted three common categories of misconduct: misclassification, undervaluation and misstating the country of origin, including by transshipment through intermediaries.

The metrics Jenny shared show how DOJ’s interest in trade fraud enforcement has translated into concrete action and the role that whistleblowers are playing. The administration has prioritized trade issues since taking office and, as part of that, DOJ has repeatedly talked about its focus on customs and trade fraud. It announced a multi-agency Trade Fraud Task Force in August 2025, pledging to work with agency partners “to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against any parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties.” It highlighted its commitment to this area again in its January 2026 report on fiscal year (FY) 2025 FCA enforcement, where it touted record overall FCA recoveries for the year and record numbers of whistleblower filings. Between these announcements, DOJ reported a series of settlements for customs duty evasion, including, in December 2025, DOJ’s largest customs-related FCA recovery to date.

Jenny’s new trade fraud numbers reveal the extent to which DOJ is pursuing brand new customs duty investigations and doing so aided by whistleblowers’ allegations. In announcing the Trade Fraud Task Force, DOJ explicitly encouraged competitors and other whistleblowers to “utilize the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud.” We now know that would-be whistleblowers heard that call, and DOJ has an unprecedented number of FCA trade fraud matters under investigation.

The surge in trade fraud qui tam filings that Jenny announced will translate into increased enforcement in this space well into the future. FCA qui tam actions are filed under seal and often remain under seal, unknown to the public, for years while DOJ investigates. It may take many months for DOJ even to serve a subpoena that would alert a company or individual under investigation that DOJ is examining whether it knowingly underpaid customs duties or caused another’s underpayment. When DOJ has completed a qui tam investigation, it often pursues settlement. If the negotiations do not result in settlement, it may then choose to intervene and litigate the case, to decline to intervene and allow the whistleblower, called the relator, to litigate the matter on behalf of the relator and the United States, or to dismiss the relator’s qui tam complaint. Jenny’s remarks separately underscored DOJ’s willingness in the appropriate case to dismiss qui tam actions rather than allowing relators to proceed. The many new duty evasion qui tams Jenny revealed have only just started down this long path. We can expect them to come to light and play out to some sort of resolution for many years to come.

Key Takeaway: DOJ is actively carrying out the promises of its Trade Fraud Task Force with more enforcement action to come. DOJ encouraged whistleblowers to file complaints regarding customs and trade fraud and has seen a rush of qui tam complaints in this area. Importers should attend to compliance, manage whistleblower complaints, and prepare to deal with DOJ FCA investigations, ones that are already pending but still under seal and others still to come.

Akin’s Tariff Enforcement Defense and False Claims Act teams are closely tracking DOJ and Customs and Border Protection developments in this space.