The new task force is chaired by Vice President Vance, and includes representatives from Treasury, the Department of Justice, and several other agencies. Its directive is to develop “a comprehensive national strategy to stop fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs, including programs administered jointly with State, local, tribal, and territorial partners.”

The focus of the executive order is on misuse of taxpayer funds. Likewise, Blanche’s memo announcing the Tax Section move emphasizes that the “core mission” of the new National Fraud Enforcement Division is “to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.” The memo also calls for realignment of other “criminal prosecutorial resources” into the National Fraud Enforcement Division.

However, some are worried that the change means a narrowed mission for the Criminal Division’s Tax Section. “Moving DOJ’s Tax Section to the National Fraud Enforcement Division sends the unfortunate signal that the acting Attorney General is interested in limiting the scope of DOJ’s tax enforcement to those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars” said Dave Hubbert, senior fellow at NYU’s Tax Law Center and the former head of the DOJ Tax Division.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.