Document & Benefit Fraud Task Forces
Document and benefit fraud pose a severe threat to national security and public safety because they create a vulnerability that may enable terrorists, criminals and illegal aliens to gain entry to and remain in the United States. One of the ways U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) addresses the infrastructure of illegal immigration is by detecting and deterring fraud before it erodes the integrity of the immigration process.
Established in April 2006, the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces (DBFTFs), led by ICE, detect, deter and disrupt document and benefit fraud.
Investigators from a variety of agencies with expertise in different aspects of fraud collaborate with U.S. Attorneys Offices around the country to formulate a comprehensive approach to targeting criminal organizations and the beneficiaries behind these fraudulent schemes.
DBFTF partners vary from task force to task force, but can include agencies such as U.S. Attorneys Offices, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Social Security Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U.S. Department of State and various state and local law enforcement agencies. Each of these agencies has a different area of expertise and knowledge, and their contributions enable the DBFTFs to conduct more comprehensive investigations.
To date, DBFTFs have been established in 18 ICE Special Agent in Charge offices across the country:
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York
- Newark
- Philadelphia
- Saint Paul
- San Francisco
- San Juan
- Tampa/Orlando
- Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia
Operation Phalanx
DMV Identity and Benefit Fraud
Recent News
5/17/2012 Gulfport, MS Florida man pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud
5/16/2012 Chicago, IL Chicago man sentenced to 3 years in prison for fraud
5/9/2012 Dallas, TX Medical supply company owner sentenced for healthcare and immigration fraud
5/7/2012 Kansas City, MO Missouri woman pleads guilty to $5 million conspiracy to provide thousands of identity documents to illegal aliens
5/3/2012 Fresno, CA 9 Valley residents charged in major document fraud scheme
4/30/2012 Fresno, CA Fresno-area woman pleads guilty in driver's license fraud scheme
