[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1217 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1217

  To protect the elderly against fraudulent practices, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 14 (legislative day, June 30), 1993

   Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect the elderly against fraudulent practices, 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. FINDINGS.

    (a) The Congress finds that--
            (1) fraudulent activity in the United States has a 
        devastating effect on the elderly;
            (2) as the fears of the elderly over financial security 
        have increased over the years, so too have the deceptive 
        tactics of unscrupulous groups that prey on those fears;
            (3) elderly citizens represent 12.5 percent of the 
        population, but they are 30 percent of the victims of fraud;
            (4) elderly citizens are far more likely to be subjected to 
        questionable and unscrupulous sales practices than any other 
        age group;
            (5) elderly citizens, because they are home more than 
        younger citizens, are more accessible to fraudulent practices 
        involving the telemarketer's call or the knock of a door-to-
        door salesperson;
            (6) schemes to bilk the elderly are becoming increasingly 
        common as dishonest persons manage to sell inferior, worthless, 
        unnecessary, and sometimes nonexistent products to thousands of 
        elderly citizens nationwide;
            (7) schemes to bilk the elderly involve outrageous tactics 
        and rob the elderly of their savings, independence, and 
        dignity;
            (8) phony vacations, fraudulent credit repair services, and 
        free prizes are but a few of the practices and activities 
        involving consumer fraud carried out against the elderly;
            (9) persons engaged in consumer fraud against the elderly 
        are highly mobile and prosecution is difficult; and
            (10) such practices and activities are a blight on 
        reputable businesses engaged in legitimate marketing practices.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.

    (a) Participation in the Financial Crimes Enforcement Center.--The 
Federal Trade Commission shall participate in, and be on the receiving 
list of law enforcement products of, the Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Center of the Department of the Treasury.
    (b) Venue.--Subsections (a) and (b) of section 13 of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 53) are each amended by adding at the 
end thereof the following: ``Whenever it appears to the court that the 
interests of justice require that any other person, partnership, or 
corporation should be a party in such suit, the court may cause such 
person, partnership, or corporation to be summoned without regard to 
whether they reside or transact business in the district in which the 
suit is brought, and to that end process may be served wherever the 
person, partnership, or corporation may be found.''.
    (c) Criminal Contempt Authority.--Section 16(a)(1) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 56(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``civil'' the first 
        place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof ``Federal 
        court''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``The Commission 
        may bring a criminal contempt action for violations of orders 
        obtained in cases brought under section 13(b) of this Act in 
        the same manner as civil penalty and other Federal court 
        actions to which this subsection applies. Such cases may be 
        initiated by the Commission on its own complaint, or pursuant 
        to its acceptance of an appointment by a court to assist it in 
        enforcing such orders pursuant to Rule 42(b) of the Federal 
        Rules of Criminal Procedure.''.

SEC. 3. SENTENCING GUIDELINES.

    (a) Fraud and Deceit.--The United States Sentencing Commission 
shall amend its sentencing guidelines relating to fraud and deceit so 
as to provide for increases in offense levels based on the number of 
persons that the offender has victimized.
    (b) Vulnerable Victims.--The United States Sentencing Commission 
shall amend its sentencing guidelines relating to vulnerable victims so 
as to provide that if the offender knew or should have known that the 
victim was unusually vulnerable or that the victim was otherwise 
particularly susceptible to the offense, the offense level shall be 
increased by 7 levels.

SEC. 4. MANDATORY RESTITUTION.

    (a) Order of Restitution.--Section 3663(a) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ``may order'' and inserting ``shall 
order''.
    (b) Procedure.--Section 3664(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ``in determining whether to order restitution under 
section 3663 of this title and the amount of such restitution'' and 
inserting ``in determining the amount of restitution under section 
3663''.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING THE NATIONAL TELEMARKETING FRAUD 
              WORKING GROUP.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) all United States Attorneys should regularly enter 
        information on telemarketing fraud into the database of the 
        National Telemarketing Fraud Working Group; and
            (2) the National Telemarketing Fraud Working Group and the 
        States should continue to cooperate with each other in 
        coordinating the prosecution of offenders in venues that are 
        convenient to the victims of their offenses.

SEC. 6. CONSUMER AND ANTI-FRAUD ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Additional United States Attorneys.--The Attorney General shall 
designate 50 existing full-time equivalent positions for attorneys and 
sufficient support staff to be assigned to the prosecution of consumer 
fraud and for law enforcement and consumer fraud education programs.
    (b) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. FORFEITURES.

    (a) Civil Forfeiture.--Section 981 of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (D) by inserting ``(i)'' before 
                ``Any'' and redesignating clauses (i), (ii), (iii), 
                (iv), (v), and (vi) as subclauses (I), (II), (III), 
                (IV), (V), and (VI), respectively;
                    (B) by striking ``(E) With respect to an offense 
                listed in subsection (a)(1)(D)'' and inserting ``(ii) 
                With respect to an offense described in clause (i)''; 
                and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
            ``(E) Any property, real or personal, that constitutes, 
        represents, is derived from, or is traceable to the proceeds of 
        a violation of section 1029, 1341, or 1343 of this title if 
        such violation relates to crimes against individuals 55 years 
        of age or older. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 524 
        of title 28, United States Code, up to 25 percent of the 
        amounts forfeited pursuant to this subparagraph for an offense 
        may be used to provide restitution to any victim of the 
        offense.''.
    (b) Criminal Forfeiture.--Section 982(a) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
    ``(5) The court, in imposing sentence on a person convicted of a 
violation of, or a conspiracy to violate, section 1029, 1341 or 1343 of 
this title, affecting an individual 55 years of age or older, shall 
order that the person forfeit to the United States any property 
constituting, or derived from, proceeds the person obtained directly or 
indirectly, as the result of such violation. Notwithstanding the 
provisions of section 524 of title 28, United States Code, up to 25 
percent of the amounts forfeited pursuant to this paragraph for an 
offense may be used to provide restitution to any victim of the 
offense.''.
    (c) Criminal Contempt Authority.--Section 16(a)(1) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 56(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``civil'' the first 
        place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof ``Federal 
        court''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``The Commission 
        may bring a criminal contempt action for violations of orders 
        obtained in cases brought under section 13(b) of this Act in 
        the same manner as civil penalty and other Federal court 
        actions to which this subsection applies. Such cases may be 
        initiated by the Commission on its own complaint, or pursuant 
        to its acceptance of an appointment by a court to assist it in 
        enforcing such orders pursuant to Rule 42(b) of the Federal 
        Rules of Criminal Procedure.''.

SEC. 8. MONEY LAUNDERING.

    Section 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after ``1014 (relating to fraudulent loan or credit 
applications),'' the following: ``1029 (relating to fraud relating to 
access devices),''.

SEC. 9. UNIFORM LAWS GOVERNING LICENSING OF HOME REPAIR CONTRACTORS, 
              MORTGAGE COMPANIES, AND PRIZE GIVEAWAY COMPANIES.

    The Attorney General, in consultation with the American Law 
Institute, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State 
Laws, or other interested persons, shall prepare model State law on 
each of the following subjects:
            (1) Licensing of home repair contractors.
            (2) Licensing of mortgage companies.
            (3) Licensing of prize giveaway companies.

SEC. 10. MAIL FRAUD.

    (a) Offense.--Section 1341 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``or places in any private courier service 
        office or authorized depository for receipt of matter to be 
        delivered by private courier service,'' after ``mail matter,'';
            (2) by inserting ``or by a private courier service'' after 
        ``Postal Service''; and
            (3) by inserting ``or private courier service'' after ``by 
        mail''.
    (b) Definition.--
            (1) Private courier service.--Section 1346 of title 18, 
        United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1346. Definitions
    ``In this chapter--
            ```private courier service' means a private entity 
        providing services provided by the United States Postal 
        Service.
            ```scheme or artifice to defraud' includes a scheme or 
        artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest 
        services.''.
            (2) Technical amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 
        63 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the 
        item for section 1346 and inserting the following item:

``1346. Definitions.''.

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