State Treasurer David McRae (center) speaks at the Southeast Regional Fraud Enforcement Partnership press conference on July 30, 2026, as Attorney General Lynn Fitch (left) looks on (Photo from McRae's Facebook page)
- The Magnolia State officials join colleagues from the DOJ, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina in a coordinated effort to fight fraud.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R), Secretary of State Michael Watson (R), State Auditor Shad White (R), and State Treasurer David McRae (R) are now part of a federal-state partnership, organized through the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.
U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger (Southern District, Mississippi), U.S. Attorney Scott Leary (Northern District, Mississippi), and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff are also part of the Southeast Regional Fraud Enforcement Partnership.
The Magnolia State officials join colleagues from the DOJ, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina in a coordinated effort to fight fraud. In all, the effort brings together 18 U.S. Attorneys Offices, seven State Attorneys General Offices, five federal law enforcement partners, and over 50 state officials.
“Defeating the fraud epidemic in our country requires all-hands-on-deck from our federal and state partners nationwide,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Whether it’s sharing intelligence, data, personnel, or priorities, partnering with state agencies directly strengthens our ability to identify those stealing taxpayer dollars. When federal prosecutors work alongside state agencies to root out fraud, fraudsters lose and the American people win.”
What Mississippi’s Officials are Saying
Attorney General Fitch said of the partnership that President Donald Trump (R) has challenged them to step up efforts to fight fraud and protect American taxpayers from this grift.
At the press conference announcing the fraud enforcement partnership, Fitch said her office has been awarded over $2.5 million for a first-of-its-kind law enforcement partnership to be known as Joint Task Force Vigilance. The effort is to be led by her office with both Mississippi U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the FBI. They will hire and equip five experienced prosecutors, a sworn law enforcement officer, and a legal analyst specifically tasked with fighting fraud, crimes by criminal aliens, human trafficking, and illicit drug activity.
“Partnerships like this one show that we are bringing everything to the table in this work. In that spirit, with the support of the U.S. Department of Justice, my office is standing up Joint Task Force Vigilance with our two U.S. Attorneys and the FBI to surge resources and personnel to make Mississippi safer, protect Mississippi taxpayers, and restore law and order,” Fitch said. “This first-of-its kind task force will bring the full authority of our offices to bear on con artists, grifters, fraudsters, and scammers.”
Treasurer McRae pointed out that fraudsters do not care about state lines, and neither should the people fighting them.
“This agreement gets investigators critical information sooner, giving us a better chance to stop fraud before a dime goes out the door,” McRae said. “President Trump has declared war on waste, fraud, and abuse, and I’m proud to stand with his administration to hunt down fraudsters, protect taxpayers, and make Americans’ money safe again.”
As for Auditor White, he noted that President Trump has made it clear “from day one” that eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government is one of his top priorities.
“My team has uncovered over $400 million in waste across state government and we’re proud to work with the White House to make sure that your tax dollars aren’t being flushed down the drain,” White said.
Secretary of State Watson said he was grateful for the partnership as his office works to combat fraud across Mississippi and the Southeast.
Fraud Enforcement Actions
In addition to the partnership announcement, DOJ highlighted fraud enforcement actions across the Southeastern United States, noting actions taken in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
The charges announced today encompass 17 cases spanning the seven states. These recent cases involve over $350 million in intended losses and include cases involving SNAP benefits, Small Business Administration loans, housing benefits, and tax fraud, DOJ noted.
DOJ mentioned two cases in Mississippi.
The first, United States v. Lakieth Faulkner et al., was out of the North District of Mississippi and led by U.S. Attorney Leary. The case involved Lakeith Faulkner, who was an attorney and an employee of the Small Business Administration (SBA). As part of his actual job, DOJ said Faulkner worked with borrowers and was uniquely positioned to understand the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) approval process. DOJ said Faulkner devised a kickback scheme with co-conspirators including Tierra Scott, a former IRS employee, to generate more than $11.5 million in fraudulent loan payments by the SBA.
The second case came from the Southern District of Mississippi and was led by U.S. Attorney Kruger. In United States v. Qadir Shabazz, et al., federal inmates housed at the Yazoo Federal Correctional Complex allegedly conspired to steal unemployment insurance benefits and EIDL funds using falsified identities, generating approximately $4.3 million in losses. The trial in this matter is set for February 2027.
