Executive Order 13271: Establishment of the Corporate Fraud Task Force
President: George W. Bush
Directed the Attorney General to establish a Justice Department-led task force to coordinate significant corporate and financial-fraud investigations, prosecutions, asset recovery, intergovernmental cooperation and policy recommendations.
Status: Superseded. Is Executive Order 13271 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13271 was superseded. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 13271 do?
The order assigned these duties: Attorney General — Establish and supervise the Corporate Fraud Task Force; Deputy Attorney General — Chair the task force, convene its first meeting and direct its work.
Checked the task force’s coordination mandate and membership against EO 13286 and EO 13519. The later order terminated this body and created a broader successor; the guide does not imply that the original task force remains active.
Before and after
Before the order
Major accounting scandals were being handled by multiple prosecutors and regulators without the task force structure specified by this order.
After the order
Justice created the task force, added participating agencies and reported corporate-fraud prosecutions and regulatory actions. EO 13286 added the Homeland Security Secretary in 2003. EO 13519 terminated EO 13271 in 2009 and replaced its body with the broader Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney General | Establish and supervise the Corporate Fraud Task Force | Immediately |
| Deputy Attorney General | Chair the task force, convene its first meeting and direct its work | First meeting within 10 days |
| Task force members | Coordinate major cases, recommend resources and propose policy or legislative changes | Ongoing until termination |
What happened next
EO 13271 signed.
EO 13271 created the Corporate Fraud Task Force.
EO 13286 added the Homeland Security Secretary to specified policy functions.
EO 13519 replaced the body and terminated EO 13271.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The order allocated executive-branch enforcement work; criminal liability still depended on statutes proved in court, and civil penalties on the relevant regulators’ laws. Reported convictions and settlements were outcomes of individual cases, not powers created by the order. No court ruling located invalidated the task-force structure.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- Justice Department — second-year report (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026. How we research →