DOJ Trade Fraud Task Force Revisits FDCA Charges

JD Supra Trade Law

Filed February 23rd, 2026

Detected March 11th, 2026

Summary

The DOJ's Trade Fraud Task Force, established six months ago, has announced its leading prosecutorial partner, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. This move signals an increased focus on enforcing the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) in trade fraud cases, building on past successful prosecutions involving honey import schemes.

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What changed

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois will serve as a leading prosecutorial partner for its newly formed Trade Fraud Task Force. This initiative, spearheaded by Cody Matthew Herche, signals a renewed emphasis on prosecuting trade fraud cases, particularly those involving violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). The DOJ referenced past successful prosecutions of honey import schemes, which involved charges for false statements in entry of goods and smuggling, alongside FDCA violations for adulterated products. This focus is further underscored by the recent guilty plea of Able Groupe for failing to provide prior notice to the FDA when importing infant formula, a violation of the FDCA.

This strategic alignment between the DOJ and the FDA, coupled with the creation of the DOJ's Health & Safety Unit, indicates a significant increase in enforcement scrutiny within the food sector. Companies involved in importing food products, especially those subject to FDA oversight, should anticipate heightened attention to compliance with import notification requirements, labeling, and ingredient safety. The DOJ's renewed focus on these areas, particularly in conjunction with trade fraud, suggests potential for increased investigations and prosecutions, emphasizing the need for robust compliance programs to prevent violations of the FDCA and related trade laws.

What to do next

Review import procedures for compliance with FDCA notification requirements.
Ensure all imported food products meet labeling and ingredient safety standards.
Assess existing compliance programs for potential gaps related to trade fraud and food safety enforcement.

Penalties

Violations of 18 U.S.C. § 542 and § 545, and the FDCA can result in felony charges and significant penalties.

Source document (simplified)

March 10, 2026

Back to the Hive: DOJ Revisits FDCA Charges in Trade Fraud Enforcement

Laura Elizabeth Hill, Lars-Erik Hjelm, Suzanne Kane, Sara McLean, Gerald Moody Jr., Amaru Sanchez Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP + Follow Contact LinkedIn Facebook X Send Embed

On February 23, 2026, Cody Matthew Herche, the head of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Trade Fraud Task Force created six months ago, announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois will serve as a “leading prosecutorial partner” of the Task Force. Shortly after the announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office issued a press release, in which U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros harkened back to a series of customs and antidumping fraud cases he prosecuted as an Assistant U.S. Attorney involving well-known schemes to avoid trade restrictions on the importation of honey. Boutros noted that “those cases provide valuable insight into how the Trade Fraud Task Force will build future criminal prosecutions.” In those cases, the government charged violations of 18 U.S.C. § 542 (entry of goods by means of false statements) and 18 U.S.C. § 545 (smuggling goods into the United States), as well as violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), alleging that the imported honey was “adulterated” because it contained an unsafe food additive. It is no surprise that Mr. Boutros will be a lead prosecutorial partner because the counterpart enforcement agencies responsible for trade fraud and enforcement investigations in the Northern District of Illinois, e.g., U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), are some of the most aggressive in the United States.

In a more recent example—November 2025, Able Groupe, a European company, pled guilty to two felony counts, including one violation of the FDCA for failing to provide prior notice to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when importing infant formula into the United States. 1 At the time of the illegal importations, several of the infant formulas Able Groupe sold were listed on FDA Import Alerts, a public website and alert system managed by the FDA, due to the formulas’ failure to meet nutrient or labelling requirements. In pleading guilty, Able Groupe admitted that it intended to defraud or mislead in failing to notify the FDA of these imports.

Shortly after this settlement, DOJ’s Criminal Fraud Section created a new unit—the Health & Safety Unit—that will focus on adulterated, misbranded, or counterfeit food, drugs, and devices, among other issues. 2 This unit will likely partner with U.S. Attorney’s Offices, including the Northern District of Illinois, as well as CBP and HSI, to prosecute these issues.

Against this backdrop, in addition to other allegations like duty evasion, we expect increased focus and scrutiny in the food space as DOJ and FDA enforcement priorities continue to align. As the administration rolls out and implements several high‑priority initiatives under its “Make America Healthy Again” agenda—including potential reforms to the Generally Recognized as Safe framework, which governs how and which ingredients are permitted for use in food—regulators are signaling heightened attention to food ingredients and supply‑chain integrity.

Key Takeaway: Given DOJ’s creation of the Health & Safety Unit within Criminal Fraud, the FDA’s increased scrutiny of food ingredients, and Boutros’ use of his past prosecutions as a model in serving as a leading prosecutorial partner in the Trade Fraud Task Force, it appears FDCA prosecutions associated with trade issues may be on the rise. Akin will be closely monitoring this space moving forward.

1 https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/online-seller-infant-formula-pleads-guilty-smuggling-and-violating-fda-prior-notice.

2 https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/health-safety-unit.

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