DOJ’s New Fraud Priorities Signal Greater Scrutiny of DEA Registrants
On August 13, 2026, the Department of Justice’s newly established National Fraud Enforcement Division announced its enforcement priorities. The Division expects to reach approximately 500 attorneys and staff and continue growing over the next two years. Supported by data scientists and advanced technology, its personnel will work with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and other federal, state, and local enforcement partners.
The DOJ memorandum identifies five priority areas: public trust and financial integrity, health care, internal revenue, global trade and commerce, and corporate misconduct. Within health care, the Division specifically identifies controlled-substance diversion as a target for “cutting-edge data analysis.”
Diversion i.e., the movement of controlled substances from lawful channels to unlawful ones, can take many forms. Examples include forged prescriptions, thefts from pharmacies and health care facilities, unlawful prescribing or dispensing, and inadequate controls that allow controlled substances to be lost or diverted.
Although DOJ’s announcement focuses on fraud and intentional misconduct, heightened enforcement can also expose compliance deficiencies involving otherwise well-intentioned DEA registrants. Incomplete records, untimely reports, insufficient security controls, inventory discrepancies, or failures to identify suspicious activity may attract regulatory attention even when there is no intent to divert controlled substances. Depending on the circumstances, such deficiencies can result in civil penalties, restrictions on controlled-substance authority, or suspension or revocation of a DEA registration.
Increased reliance on data analytics may broaden that exposure. An unusual prescribing, dispensing, purchasing, or ordering pattern is not necessarily evidence of wrongdoing, but it may generate an inquiry. Reviews may also extend beyond the entity where suspected diversion occurred to prescribers, pharmacies, distributors, manufacturers, and others in the supply chain whose data or controls appear connected to the activity.
If the DOJ is true to its word, DEA registrants can expect that DEA will pursue more cases to fulfill this recent mandate. DEA registrants should therefore consider whether their compliance programs are prepared for a more data-driven enforcement environment. A meaningful assessment should go beyond confirming that policies exist. It should evaluate whether actual operating data reveal unexplained trends, outliers, reporting gaps, inventory variances, or other indicators that regulators could identify.
CS Consulting helps prescribers, pharmacies, distributors, manufacturers, and other DEA registrants evaluate these risks before they attract regulatory attention. Through independent compliance assessments and data-informed reviews, we help clients identify vulnerabilities, prioritize corrective action, and strengthen the systems used to prevent and detect diversion. Organizations uncertain about their readiness are invited to contact us for a confidential initial consultation.