North Carolina Attorney General Joins Lawsuit Over Business Ownership Rule
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 20 other attorneys general are asking a federal court to block a rule that exempts nearly all U.S. companies from reporting their owners under the Corporate Transparency Act.
By WECT Staff
Published: Nov. 2, 2026 at 5:48 PM GMT+1 | Updated: 2 hours ago
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The lawsuit, filed against the U.S. Treasury Department and its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), argues the rule is illegal and that the agency cannot repeal a law passed by Congress through a regulatory change.
“These changes allow people who hide behind sham businesses to traffic drugs like fentanyl and commit crimes like tax fraud to get away with it,” Jackson said. “This law exists so that law enforcement can go after these criminals, and the federal government is trying to weaken it. They can’t do that, and we’ll see them in court.”
The Corporate Transparency Act became law Jan. 1, 2021, with bipartisan support. It requires companies to report their actual owners to the Treasury Department, giving law enforcement a way to trace money connected to crimes.
In August, FinCEN finalized a rule exempting all U.S. companies from reporting their owners. Foreign companies also no longer have to report their U.S. owners. The changes exempt more than 99% of the companies previously covered by the law, according to the lawsuit. FinCEN also announced plans to delete ownership records already on file, some of which could contain evidence of unsolved crimes, the attorneys general said.
The lawsuit argues the changes also violate the Administrative Procedure Act, which sets requirements for federal agencies changing regulations. It says the Corporate Transparency Act requires FinCEN to keep records for at least five years after a company closes. The attorneys general are asking the court to strike down the rule and immediately stop FinCEN from deleting the records.
The other attorneys general in the lawsuit represent: Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.