[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2850 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2850

   To create a penalty for automobile insurance fraud, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2002

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To create a penalty for automobile insurance fraud, 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 ``Cheaper Car Insurance Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE FRAUD.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting at the end the following:
``Sec. 1037. Automobile insurance fraud
    ``(a) Whoever knowingly commits automobile insurance fraud shall be 
punished as provided in subsection (b).
    ``(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), the punishment for an 
offense under subsection (a) is a fine of not more than $100,000 and 
imprisonment of not more than--
            ``(1) 5 years for a first violation of subsection (a);
            ``(2) 10 years for a second violation of subsection (a); or
            ``(3) 15 years for a third or subsequent violation of 
        subsection (a).
    ``(c) If a violation of subsection (a) results in costs that exceed 
$100,000, the fine imposed under subsection (b) may be in an amount 
greater than $100,000 in order to cover the resulting cost.
    ``(d) In this section--
            ``(1) the term `automobile insurance fraud' means fraud 
        committed by any person who knowingly and intentionally 
        presents a written statement, causes a written statement to be 
        presented, or prepares a written statement with knowledge or 
        belief that it will be presented to or by an insurer, self-
        insurer, or any agent thereof, that such person knows--
                    ``(A) contains materially false information 
                concerning any fact material to an application, 
                certificate, evidence, or claim referred to in 
                paragraph (2); or
                    ``(B) conceals, for the purpose of misleading, 
                information concerning any fact material to an 
                application, certificate, evidence, or claim referred 
                to in paragraph (2); and
            ``(2) the term `written statement' means a written 
        statement that is part of, or in support of--
                    ``(A) an application for the issuance of or the 
                rating of a commercial insurance policy;
                    ``(B) a certificate or evidence of self-insurance 
                for commercial insurance or commercial self-insurance; 
                or
                    ``(C) a claim for payment or other benefit pursuant 
                to an insurance policy or self-insurance program for 
                commercial or personal insurance.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 47 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``1037. Automobile insurance fraud.''.

SEC. 3. BEST PRACTICES.

    (a) In General.--The Department of Justice shall publish best 
practices for the States to use--
            (1) in licensing auto body shops that perform work paid for 
        by insurers; and
            (2) in licensing medical treatment provided to people who 
        are injured in automobile accidents.
    (b) Goal.--The goal of publishing best practices as required under 
subsection (a) is to encourage the States to adopt such practices to 
limit the feasibility of committing insurance fraud.

SEC. 4. INVESTIGATION OF FRAUDULENT PRACTICES.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall cooperate with the 
offices of the United States Attorneys to--
            (1) aggressively investigate fraudulent chop shops and 
        salvage yards;
            (2) aggressively prosecute automobile insurance fraud (as 
        defined in section 1037 of title 18, United States Code); and
            (3) report statistics on investigations, prosecutions, and 
        convictions of automobile insurance fraud.
    (b) Reporting.--Statistics referred to in subsection (a)(3) shall 
be reported to the Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the 
Courts of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
appropriate Committee of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 5. INVESTIGATIVE AND PROSECUTORIAL SPECIAL UNITS.

    (a) Establishment of Units.--The Attorney General shall establish 
investigative and prosecutorial special units in the offices of the 
United States Attorneys in the 10 cities in the United States that are 
most severely affected, as determined by the Attorney General, by 
automobile insurance fraud (as defined in section 1037 of title 18, 
United States Code).
    (b) Purpose.--The special units established under subsection (a) 
shall investigate and prosecute automobile insurance fraud.
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