Report: DOJ cracked down on $4.8M in elder fraud in 12 months
More than 700 fraudsters allegedly stole a total of $4.84 million from older Americans over the span of 12 months, according to a new U.S. Department of Justice report.
Between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, the DOJ investigated 712 individuals for 40 different types of elder fraud scams targeting over 711,000 victims.
Approximately $3.5 million of the total amount stolen from older Americans during that time came from investment scams, the 2026 Annual Report to Congress on Department of Justice Activities to Combat Elder Fraud and Abuse revealed.
Customer and technology support impersonations accounted for over $1 million in financial losses. Romance scams, compromised business email, government impersonation scams, and personal data breaches each accounted for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The DOJ’s investigations into those scams led to nearly 350 criminal and civil enforcement actions. The department also launched nationwide outreach campaigns and held nearly 1,200 public awareness events.
“This administration has prioritized combating the scourge of fraud—including transnational schemes that prey on our nation’s older adults and threaten their financial security and well-being,” U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in the report, released Wednesday.
With a notable 45% of the criminal scams originating abroad, the DOJ will continue to work with foreign law enforcement as well as domestic, Blanche added.
“Under this administration’s leadership, the Department’s pledge is clear: We will vigorously pursue those who harm older Americans and ensure that elder justice remains a top priority,” he said.
While combating elder fraud has wide bipartisan support, most major anti-fraud measures the Trump administration has undertaken have generated intense opposition from Democrats and other critics.
The White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, headed by Vice President J.D. Vance, has specifically targeted government waste and fraud in federal programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
Vance recently announced the cancellation of Affordable Care Act coverage for more than 750,000 individuals suspected of being ineligibly enrolled, accounting for about $2.2 billion in improper payments.
Congressional Democrats decried the move, with a group of senators led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., calling the allegations of fraud “baseless” and the Trump administration’s action “potentially unlawful” in a scathing letter to health insurance companies that complied with the move.
White House officials have argued that cracking down on ineligible enrollees will better preserve the programs, with Vance arguing that “they’re not going to exist” if anti-fraud measures aren’t enforced.
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