When the Justice Department's new fraud chief gathered top prosecutors from across the South last month to announce "record fraud enforcement actions," each official trumpeted a recent case that showed how the new effort was unfolding. But there was a hitch: One of the cases wasn't new. The U.S. attorney for northern Mississippi highlighted a former federal employee convicted of plundering a pandemic-era loan program for distressed small businesses. The defendant was caught in 2022 and had already served his prison sentence.

The incident underscores internal challenges facing the department's revamped fraud enforcement strategy. Despite public announcements touting new initiatives, officials struggled to present genuinely fresh examples of their work.

This week's Risk Journal podcast also covers JPMorgan ending its banking relationship with Polymarket over regulatory concerns, plus cybersecurity risks among local water utilities and changes to FTC antidiscrimination enforcement mechanisms. New episodes air every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon.