WASHINGTON – The Senate Tuesday overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation to bolster existing tools and increase resources available to federal prosecutors to combat fraud. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA) will help both to protect Americans from fraud and recover taxpayers' money lost to fraud.
The bill was introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) on February 5. The senators are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which reported the measure on March 5.
Leahy said, "The victims of mortgage and financial fraud include homeowners who have been fleeced by unscrupulous mortgage brokers and retirees who have lost their life savings in stock scams and Ponzi schemes. They also include taxpayers who have invested billions of dollars to restore our economy and support our banking system. The Senate has taken an important step to protect Americans' investment in their economy by passing the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act."
Grassley said, "Taxpayers have been asked to shoulder an enormous burden. We simply cannot allow these funds to be unprotected from fraud, waste, or abuse. By strengthening and updating provisions to help our federal law enforcement go after the bad actors, we're deterring potential defrauders from attempting to scam the government, and helping instill confidence back into the housing and financial markets."
Kaufman said, "Our economy will not recover until Americans' faith is restored in both our financial markets and our rule of law. This is an important step towards both. FERA is a wakeup call to criminals in the financial sector who have flown under the radar for too long, their fraudulent conduct damaging our economy and harming hard working Americans. We can't have separate sets of rules for people who rob banks and banks who rob people. You break the law, you suffer the consequences, and now our agents, investigators, and prosecutors have the resources to get the job done."
The legislation will now be sent to the House for consideration, and bill's sponsors urged swift action on the critical anti-fraud measure.
Reports of mortgage and corporate fraud are at an all-time high, and law enforcement expects a significant increase in fraud in connection with the economic recovery efforts. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act will rebuild the nation's capacity to investigate and prosecute the mortgage and corporate frauds that have undermined the economy and hurt working people.
The bipartisan Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act was cosponsored by nearly 30 senators, and has received the support of the Obama administration, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S Postal Inspection Service, and the Inspector General of the Department of the Housing and Urban Development. The bill has also been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and Taxpayers Against Fraud.