A senior US Justice Department official on 29 October 2026 publicly acknowledged cooperation with Indian law enforcement in dismantling technology-support and government-impersonation fraud schemes, underscoring the cross-border nature of cyber-enabled scams that target American households.

What Was Said at the Briefing

Richard Goldberg, director of the Justice Department's Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative, made the remarks at a Washington Foreign Press Centre briefing. 'We've worked with Indian law enforcement to shut down tech support and government imposter fraud schemes throughout India,' Goldberg said. He did not announce a new operation in India, nor did he specify dates, arrests, or financial recoveries tied to those cases.

The briefing framed India as one of several countries where US prosecutors and investigators have partnered with local authorities against criminal networks targeting Americans — placing it alongside Southeast Asia, West Africa, Jamaica, and Mexico in the scope of ongoing enforcement activity.

The Scale of the Challenge

Goldberg described a recurring structural obstacle: a single fraud scheme can originate in one country, route communications through a second, and move criminal proceeds through several more. He stressed that cross-border cooperation was essential to gathering evidence and recovering assets. 'We cannot prosecute our way out of this problem,' he said, urging journalists and local authorities to build public awareness alongside enforcement action.

Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, told the briefing that she had visited India as part of her international engagement, though she did not provide a date or describe any new bilateral arrangement. She noted that countries hosting scam operations often face the same fraud targeting their own citizens — framing it as a shared problem rather than a one-way burden.

FBI's Role and Recurring Tactics

Heith Janke, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Division, said the bureau's overseas law-enforcement attachés were central to building intelligence-sharing relationships with partner countries — particularly where victims are in the United States but criminal organisations operate abroad. Janke flagged government impersonation as a persistent tactic, noting that investigators had encountered setups designed to make scammers appear to be law-enforcement officials from multiple jurisdictions.

About the Initiatives

The Justice Department's Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative was launched in the summer of 2026, according to Goldberg. It consolidates prosecutors and specialists in fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, international evidence-gathering, extradition, and asset forfeiture under a single operational umbrella. Separately, the District of Columbia's Scam Centre Strike Force was established in November 2025, according to Pirro. Its work has included probes into cryptocurrency fraud networks, website disruption, and efforts to secure the extradition of overseas defendants.

The briefing did not identify the specific Indian agencies involved in the operations Goldberg cited, nor did it provide case names or an estimate of losses prevented through the US–India partnership. Observers note that such public acknowledgements, even without operational detail, carry diplomatic weight — signalling that both governments treat cyber fraud as a priority bilateral issue.