meta_id 3216621

On June 5, 2026, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an Advisory urging financial institutions to detect and report illicit activity related to the unlawful employment of non-work-authorized populations. The Advisory, issued jointly with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and National Credit Union Administration in coordination with the Internal Revenue Service, supports Executive Order 14406, Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System. The Advisory highlights how employers can gain unfair advantages over legitimate U.S. businesses by hiring, concealing, and exploiting non-work-authorized workers, which can depress wages, facilitate identity theft, and divert tax revenue from government benefit programs. Schemes to pay unlawful workers often rely on access to the U.S. financial system. Unlawfully obtained wages can facilitate financing of transnational criminal organizations designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and their criminal enterprises, including drug trafficking and human trafficking. In 2025, financial institutions reported over $2.5 billion in suspicious activity associated with payroll tax fraud schemes. FinCEN's analysis identifies complicit labor brokers who establish shell companies or unregistered money services businesses to launder funds and distribute payments to unlawful alien workers through cash couriers, checks, or peer-to-peer platforms without withholding payroll taxes. The Advisory encourages banks to apply risk-based customer due diligence procedures when an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is presented in lieu of a Social Security number or valid employment authorization document. FinCEN provides 18 red flag indicators to help financial institutions detect suspicious activity. Financial institutions should use the key term "FINANCIALINTEGRITY-2026-A002" in Suspicious Activity Report field 2 to indicate connections to this Advisory. FinCEN also encourages reporting tips or complaints about employers knowingly employing unauthorized workers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Tip Form or by calling (866) 347-2423.