NEW YORK, May 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A new Brattle report finds that prosecutions of traditional financial fraud brought by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Fraud Section and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) have declined in recent years, while enforcement priorities have shifted away from Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and public corruption matters and toward cases tied to national security, public funds, and consumer protection. Although the decline is widespread, the trends vary significantly across categories.
Authored by Brattle Principal Paul Hinton and Senior Associate Dr. Adrienna Huffman, Trends in White-Collar Crime 2025: Criminal Financial Fraud Prosecuted by the DOJ Fraud Section & SDNY examines how changes in leadership, enforcement priorities, and staffing at the DOJ are reflected in enforcement activity over the 2016–2025 period, with a particular focus on 2025. The report is based on a unique Brattle dataset that combines press releases and case listings for the DOJ Fraud Section and SDNY.
“The patterns we observed align with major policy and organizational changes within the DOJ in 2025, including shifts in prosecutorial resources and investigative support for white-collar cases,” said Mr. Hinton, Brattle Principal and Co-Leader of the firm’s White Collar Investigations & Litigation practice. “Taken together, these developments point to a broader reorientation of enforcement activity away from traditional market-based misconduct and toward matters tied to national and economic policy objectives.”
In addition to trends across five major financial fraud categories, the report examines corporate enforcement and how DOJ Fraud Section cases increasingly align with the DOJ’s 2025 “America First” enforcement priorities.
Key takeaways from the report include:
- Overall financial fraud enforcement fell to 51 cases in 2025, marking a third consecutive annual decline and the lowest level of the past decade, well below the 10-year average of 73.
- Traditional financial fraud enforcement weakened across most categories, particularly corruption, banking fraud, and cryptocurrency-related cases.
- Investment fraud proved more resilient than other categories, rebounding modestly in 2025 after declining in 2024.
- Corporate enforcement trends mirrored broader prosecutorial shifts, with fewer traditional financial fraud resolutions – particularly in FCPA matters – and increased activity in healthcare-related areas.
The report concludes that recent enforcement patterns may reflect a broader structural shift in federal white-collar enforcement priorities, which the authors intend to continue tracking as DOJ and SDNY leadership, staffing, and priorities evolve.
The full report can be found on Brattle’s website: https://www.brattle.com/insights-events/news/trends-in-white-collar-crime-2025-criminal-financial-fraud-prosecuted-by-the-doj-fraud-section-sdny/
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SOURCE The Brattle Group
