Justice Department · Thursday, October 15, 2026
Justice Department says a tax sweep reached more than $490 million
The File desk · Oct 15, 2026, 11:00 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed as the Justice Department’s Oct. 14, 2026 release. The loss figures are the department’s estimates. New charges are allegations. People charged are presumed innocent unless a court has convicted or sentenced them.
- Confirmed
The department said 35 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices took part in a first National Tax Enforcement Surge, from early September through Oct. 14, covering 76 defendants and an estimated intended loss of more than $490 million.
- Confirmed
It said 23 actions brought new charges against 31 defendants, with an estimated intended loss that exceeds approximately $350 million, and that about 39 other actions, including trials, pleas, and sentencings, affected another 45 defendants, with an estimated intended loss of nearly $140 million.
- Confirmed
An indictment in the Northern District of Georgia names Gustavo Rojano Salazar, Gabriel Rojano Salazar, and Andres Huerta Rendon and describes an alleged $74 million scheme and more than 16,000 Treasury refund checks. An indictment is an allegation.
The Justice Department said Wednesday that a National Tax Enforcement Surge, its first, ran from early September through Oct. 14 across 35 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. The department counts 76 defendants and an estimated intended loss of more than $490 million, mixing what it calls alleged and proven crimes. New charges are allegations. In one of those cases, a Northern District of Georgia indictment accuses three men of a $74 million scheme involving more than 16,000 Treasury refund checks. They are presumed innocent.
The release is dated Oct. 14, 2026, and was updated the same day. It says the surge included 23 actions with new charges against 31 defendants. The estimated intended loss on those new charges “exceeds approximately $350,000,000.” About 39 other actions, including trials, pleas, and sentencings, affected another 45 defendants, with an estimated intended loss of nearly $140 million.
The $490 million figure is the department’s estimate of intended loss across alleged and proven crimes. This story does not split that total into a convicted share and a charged share. The release does not publish that split as a table this desk could recount case by case.
One item in the release is a Northern District of Georgia indictment of Gustavo Rojano Salazar, Gabriel Rojano Salazar, and Andres Huerta Rendon, described as Mexican citizens. The charges listed are conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The release says the scheme involved $74 million and more than 16,000 Treasury refund checks. An indictment is an allegation. The three are presumed innocent.
The release’s closing line says an indictment, information, or complaint is merely an allegation, and that defendants are presumed innocent. Comments in the release from department officials are theirs. This story does not treat those comments as findings.
What is still unknown or disputed
- How many of the 76 defendants have been convicted or sentenced, and how many are charged only. The release mixes the two and does not give a case-by-case list in the text this desk used.
- The Georgia indictment was not opened. The charge descriptions and the $74 million figure are from the department’s release.
- No statute section is added here. The release’s charge names are used as it printed them.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
DOJ’s Fraud Division, IRS, and IRS-CI expose more than $490 million in tax fraud in a national tax enforcement surge
U.S. Department of Justice · October 14, 2026
Thirty-five U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. A first National Tax Enforcement Surge from early September through Oct. 14. Seventy-six defendants. Estimated intended loss more than $490 million. Twenty-three actions with new charges against 31 defendants. A Northern District of Georgia indictment alleges a $74 million scheme and more than 16,000 Treasury refund checks. An indictment is an allegation.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/dojs-fraud-division-irs-and-irs-ci-expose-more-490m-tax-fraud-national-tax-enforcement-surge