Texas Comptroller Don Huffines announced Oct. 22 that his office had launched the Texas Fraud Investigation and Recovery Strike Team, or Texas FIRST, within its Law Enforcement Operations Division. The agency says the statewide team will investigate public corruption, government fraud, sales-tax fraud and unclaimed-property fraud, and work with regional investigators and local, state and federal law-enforcement partners.

The Comptroller’s program page describes Texas FIRST as a specialized unit for complex financial and corruption investigations. The public announcement did not identify a new investigation, allegation or recovery tied to the launch; the unit’s stated mission should not be read as evidence of wrongdoing by any person or organization.

Sources: Texas Comptroller press release, Oct. 22: comptroller.texas.gov source ↗ ; Texas FIRST program page: comptroller.texas.gov source ↗