White House targets trucking fraud in enforcement surge

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in July. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg)

The trucking industry has become the focus of a White House-led enforcement campaign that brings together the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies to combat fraud and criminal networks.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that federal agencies and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud have launched a “whole-of-government approach” to investigate and prosecute fraudulent activity in trucking.

DOT and its operating administrations, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, have joined 11 executive departments and agencies in conducting criminal investigations and pursuing court actions against fraud, which the presidential order defines as “obtaining something of value through willful misrepresentation.”

“I’m grateful that we now have a holistic approach. We can’t do it on our own. I’m not a law enforcement agency,” Duffy said Aug. 31. He was joined by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, eight U.S. attorneys and Andrew Ferguson, vice chair of the White House task force and chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.

Headed by Vice President JD Vance, the task force was established in March under President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14395. Its mission is to prosecute fraud, enforce federal regulations and ensure states properly administer federal programs.

“Fraud is not just about money,” Ferguson said. “Real Americans are hurt physically, hurt every day, because fraudsters are trying to make a quick buck. That is why it is so important that the government under President Trump and the vice president are focused on stopping it.”

🚨UNPRECEDENTED ACTION🚨 

We’re taking aggressive steps to root out fraud in the trucking industry… 

✅ @FMCSA regulates safety 
✅ @DHSGov makes arrests 
✅ @TheJusticeDept prosecutes⁰ 

Together, we’re cleaning up rogue operations and keeping our highways safe 🚛🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/J8q34ceKqb

— U.S. Department of Transportation (@USDOT) August 31, 2026

FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said the combined efforts of the task force partners will “root out the bad” and pointed to a warning he delivered during his first news conference as administrator.

“I said, ‘If you’re not going to follow the rules, get out of the business or we’re coming for you,’ ” Barrs said. “Well, here we are. We’re coming for you because we have a team that’s around here that’s going to make that happen.” 

Prosecutors lead DOJ task force

Attorney General Todd Blanche highlighted the Department of Justice’s role in the initiative, announcing the creation of a Crossroads of America task force made up of U.S. attorneys from districts in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The task force is charged with investigating fraud affecting the trucking industry and threats to public safety.

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The Crossroads of America task force is made up of U.S. attorneys from districts in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. (Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission)

“The drivers and companies that allow for this dangerous activity will no longer get a pass,” Blanche said.

The initiative brings together the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to support DOT, FMCSA, and state and local law enforcement agencies.

Jerome Gorgon Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, noted that the four Midwestern states encompass some of the nation’s busiest freight corridors, where millions of trucks travel interstate highways each year.

“Many of these trucks are driven by foreign nationals and illegal aliens who lack the proper training to safely drive 40 tons of truck and cargo across America on our highways,” Gorgon said. “These drivers squeeze American truckers out of the marketplace with low-wage rates and often they’re up to something much worse. They’re hauling drugs and guns through our country on behalf of international crime syndicates.”

He said investigators will use “data-driven enforcement” and centralize information from multiple jurisdictions.

“Together we’re going to fight fraud in the trucking industry,” Gorgon said. “We’re going to stop the flow of drugs and guns and we’re going to save American lives.” 

DHS operations target trucking

Homeland Security Investigations agents will focus on commercial driver license fraud, unauthorized employment, identity document fraud, financial crimes, money laundering and labor exploitation. Investigators also will seek to identify potential ties to human smuggling, drug trafficking and cartel activity.

DHS field offices planned to begin a coordinated National Surge Operation on Aug. 31 with Enforcement and Removal Operations agents. Maine, Wisconsin and Michigan were the first states involved. The operation will pair ERO personnel with DOT officials and FMCSA-certified inspectors at multiple checkpoints in undisclosed locations.

ERO also has launched nationwide and state-level operations targeting commercial drivers and transportation companies. Three enforcement initiatives are underway:

• ICE Wall: targets trucking companies and drivers with final deportation orders, prior removals or reinstated removal orders

• Guardrail: focuses on undocumented foreigners holding CDLs

• Freightliner: identifies, locates and processes for deportation undocumented foreigners operating commercial vehicles illegally

“HSI will bring the full weight of our investigative authorities, financial expertise and global law enforcement capabilities to this historic, whole-of-government effort,” said John Condon, acting HSI executive associate director. “Alongside our federal partners we will aggressively pursue the individuals and criminal networks that use fraudulent documents, illicit financial schemes and other unlawful means to circumvent our laws and profit at the expense of public safety.”

Earlier this year, DOT and DHS partnered to curb cabotage by sharing data with border agents to prevent Mexican truckers with prior violations from entering the United States.

In July, HSI field offices issued about 80 inspection notices, opened numerous investigations and identified potential cases involving fraudulent CDL issuance, unauthorized employment, identity fraud, shell companies and broader transportation-sector exploitation, according to DOJ.