[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6954 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6954
To prevent mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors in
the United States, to promote efforts to increase public awareness of
the enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud have
on seniors, to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their
caregivers about how to identify and combat fraudulent activity, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 18, 2008
Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Smith of Texas,
and Mr. Scott of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors in
the United States, to promote efforts to increase public awareness of
the enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud have
on seniors, to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their
caregivers about how to identify and combat fraudulent activity, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Senior Financial Empowerment Act of
2008''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The proportion of the population of the United States
age 60 years or older will drastically increase in the next 30
years as more than 76,000,000 Baby Boomers approach retirement
and old age.
(2) Each year, anywhere between 500,000 and 5,000,000
seniors in the United States are abused, neglected, or
exploited.
(3) Senior abuse, neglect, and exploitation have no
boundaries, and cross all racial, social class, gender, and
geographic lines.
(4) Millions of individuals in the United States are
victims of financial exploitation, including mail,
telemarketing, and Internet fraud, each year. Many of those who
fall prey to these crimes are seniors.
(5) It is difficult to estimate the prevalence of fraud
targeting seniors because cases are severely underreported and
national statistics on senior fraud do not exist.
(6) The Federal Bureau of Investigation notes that senior
Americans are less likely to report fraud because they do not
know to whom to report, they are ashamed to have been a victim
of fraud, or they do not know that they have been a victim of
fraud. In some cases, a senior victim of fraud may not report
the crime because he or she is concerned that relatives may
come to the conclusion that the victim no longer has the mental
capacity to take care of his or her own financial affairs.
(7) Perpetrators of mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud
frequently target seniors because seniors are often vulnerable
and trusting people.
(8) As victims of such fraudulent schemes, many seniors
have been robbed of their hard-earned life savings and
frequently pay an emotional cost, losing not only their money,
but also their self-respect and dignity.
(9) Perpetrators of fraud targeting seniors often operate
outside the United States, reaching their victims through the
mail, telephone lines, and the Internet.
(10) The Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act
increased the power of the United States Postal Service to
protect consumers against persons who use deceptive mailings,
such as those featuring games of chance, sweepstakes, skill
contests, and facsimile checks.
(11) During fiscal year 2007, analysts prepared more than
27,000 letters and informative postcards in response to mail
fraud complaints. During that same year, postal inspectors
investigated 2,909 mail fraud cases in the United States, and
arrested 1,236 mail fraud suspects, of whom 1,118 were
convicted. Postal inspectors also reported 162 telemarketing
fraud investigations, with 83 arrests and 61 convictions
resulting from such investigations.
(12) In 2000, the United States Senate Special Committee on
Aging reported that, each year, consumers lose approximately
$40,000,000,000 to telemarketing fraud, and estimated that
approximately 10 percent of the Nation's 14,000 telemarketing
firms were fraudulent. Some researchers estimate that only one
in 10,000 fraud victims reports the crime to the authorities.
(13) A 2003 report by AARP found that the crime of
telemarketing fraud is grossly underreported among senior
victims, but that those who are properly counseled by trained
peer volunteers are less likely to fall victim to fraudulent
practices.
(14) The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that the
threat of fraud to seniors is growing and changing. Many
younger Baby Boomers have considerable computer skills, and
criminals are modifying their targeting techniques by using not
only traditional telephone calls and mass mailings, but also
online scams like phishing and e-mail spamming.
(15) The IC3 is a partnership between the National White
Collar Crime Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
that serves as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer
criminal complaints regarding cyber crime. The IC3 processed
more than 219,553 complaints of Internet crime in 2007. From
these submissions, the IC3 referred 90,008 complaints of
Internet crime, representing a total dollar loss of
$239,090,000, to Federal, State, and local law enforcement
agencies in the United States for further consideration.
(16) Consumer awareness is the best protection from fraud.
SEC. 3. ENHANCED SENTENCING PENALTIES BASED ON AGE OF VICTIM.
(a) Directive to the United States Sentencing Commission.--Pursuant
to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code,
and in accordance with this section, the United States Sentencing
Commission (referred to in this section as the ``Commission'') shall
review and, if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and
policy statements, including section 3A1.1 of the Federal sentencing
guidelines, to include the age of a crime victim, particularly for
senior crime victims, to ensure such guidelines adequately reflect
Congress' intent that the age of a crime victim is one of the criteria
for determining whether the application of a sentencing enhancement is
appropriate.
(b) Requirements.--In carrying out this section, the Commission
shall--
(1) ensure that the Federal sentencing guidelines and the
policy statements of the Commission reflect the serious
economic and physical harms associated with criminal activity
targeted at seniors due to their particular vulnerability;
(2) consider providing, in appropriate circumstances,
increased penalties for persons convicted of offenses in which
the victim was a senior;
(3) consult with individuals or groups representing
seniors, law enforcement agencies, victims organizations, and
the Federal judiciary as part of the review described in
subsection (a);
(4) ensure reasonable consistency with other Federal
sentencing guidelines and directives;
(5) account for any aggravating or mitigating circumstances
that may justify exceptions, including circumstances for which
the Federal sentencing guidelines provide sentencing
enhancements based on the age of the crime victim;
(6) make any necessary conforming changes to the Federal
sentencing guidelines; and
(7) ensure that the Federal sentencing guidelines
adequately meet the purposes of sentencing set forth in section
3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.
(c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report on issues
relating to the age of crime victims, which shall include--
(1) an explanation of any changes to sentencing policy made
by the Commission under this section; and
(2) any recommendations of the Commission for retention or
modification of penalty levels, including statutory penalty
levels, for offenses involving seniors.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO PREVENT MAIL, TELEMARKETING, AND INTERNET FRAUD.
(a) Grant Program Authorized.--Subject to the availability of funds
authorized to be appropriated under this section, the Attorney General,
after consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Postmaster General, and the Chief Postal Inspector for the United
States Postal Inspection Service, shall establish and administer a
competitive grant program to award grants to eligible organizations to
carry out mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud prevention education
programs for seniors.
(b) Eligible Organizations.--The Attorney General may award grants
under this section to State Attorneys General, State and local law
enforcement agencies and groups, senior centers, and other local
nonprofit organizations that provide assistance to seniors, as
determined by the Attorney General.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2009 through 2013.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RELATED TO NATIONAL SENIOR FRAUD
AWARENESS WEEK.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) there is a need to increase public awareness of the
enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud
has on senior citizens in the United States;
(2) a week in the month of May should be designated as
``National Senior Fraud Awareness Week'';
(3) the people of the United States should observe National
Senior Fraud Awareness Week with appropriate educational
activities; and
(4) the President is encouraged to issue a proclamation
supporting increased public awareness of the impact of, and the
need to prevent, fraud committed against seniors.
<all>