House Bill hb0017E

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 17-E

        By Representative Harrell






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to fraud prevention; creating

  3         the Fraud Prevention Unit within the Office of

  4         the Attorney General to improve and coordinate

  5         the state's response to fraud and related

  6         crimes; requiring the unit to establish a

  7         Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral Center

  8         to collect, refer, and analyze information

  9         concerning fraud; specifying goals of the

10         center; specifying responsibilities of the

11         unit; providing requirements for projects

12         supported by the unit; requiring the unit to

13         develop public information programs and

14         establish recommended training curricula;

15         authorizing the Attorney General to use

16         volunteers who are agents of the unit with

17         respect to protection under the state's

18         sovereign immunity; requiring the unit to

19         coordinate its investigations with other law

20         enforcement agencies and victim assistance

21         programs; requiring the unit to use services of

22         the Federal Trade Commission; requiring that

23         the unit avoid duplicating services but

24         communicate the availability of those services;

25         requiring that the unit be developed and

26         operated using existing resources; providing

27         for the use of donated funds and resources;

28         authorizing state agencies and local businesses

29         to assign employees to assist the unit;

30         authorizing the unit to assist victims in

31         correcting credit reports or other identifying

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 17-E

    767-130-02E






  1         information; prohibiting the unit from

  2         providing legal representation to victims of

  3         fraud; providing an effective date.

  4

  5  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  6

  7         Section 1.  Fraud prevention.--

  8         (1)  There is created within the Office of the Attorney

  9  General the Fraud Prevention Unit. The mission of the unit is

10  to improve this state's response to fraud and crimes related

11  to fraud using cooperative efforts among state agencies,

12  businesses in the private sector, and private citizen

13  volunteers.

14         (2)(a)  The Fraud Prevention Unit shall establish

15  within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,

16  another state agency, or a designated private entity, as

17  appropriate, a Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral Center

18  to which victims of fraud may immediately turn in order to

19  obtain information and general assistance in dealing with a

20  crime. The center shall serve as an easily accessed single

21  point of contact for consumers who are, or suspect that they

22  may be, victims of fraud and shall bridge the gaps between the

23  public, state agencies, consumer organizations, and private

24  businesses. The center shall establish an effective program

25  for collecting, referring, and analyzing information and data

26  concerning fraud. The center shall focus on the goals of:

27         1.  Prevention, which includes the real-time education

28  of consumers, businesses, and law enforcement agencies.

29         2.  Reporting, which includes real-time information

30  regarding victims of fraud and persons suspected of committing

31  fraud.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 17-E

    767-130-02E






  1         3.  Restoration, which includes, if necessary,

  2  returning the victim's credit and name to their original

  3  status.

  4         (b)  The center shall properly collect, track, analyze,

  5  and disseminate data concerning complaints in order to better

  6  address short-term enforcement concerns and long-term strategy

  7  requirements. The center shall:

  8         1.  Provide a statewide methodology to manage complaint

  9  information from consumers, regulatory and enforcement

10  agencies, affected businesses in the private sector, and

11  consumer-support organizations.

12         2.  Identify related complaints.

13         3.  Collect, analyze, and produce accurate data

14  concerning the scope of fraud.

15         4.  Develop and implement timely prevention and

16  education programs to reduce victimization by fraud, as well

17  as to provide important response strategies to those who have

18  discovered that they are victims of fraud.

19         5.  Share complaint information and fraud data related

20  to investigations in the public and private sectors in a

21  timely manner.

22         (3)  The responsibilities of the Fraud Prevention Unit

23  shall include, but not be limited to:

24         (a)  Creating an effective public and private

25  partnership to cooperatively address criminal fraud within the

26  state as it affects individual citizens and businesses. The

27  public and private partnership shall include professionals in

28  the fields of communications, financial services, insurance,

29  information management, law, marketing, technology, retail

30  sales, government, and law enforcement.

31

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 17-E

    767-130-02E






  1         (b)  Providing timely and effective information to the

  2  public and to businesses in this state regarding the types of

  3  fraud that may be perpetrated upon them and the efforts that

  4  can be taken to reduce the possibility of becoming a victim of

  5  such fraud.

  6         (c)  Providing information to the public and businesses

  7  and encouraging the use of new and innovative refinements for

  8  fraud prevention in this state, including the use of Internet

  9  resources to facilitate access to government and private

10  sector programs designed to assist fraud victims.

11         (d)  Furthering the goal of a statewide fraud

12  prevention network by supporting the initiation or expansion

13  of statewide and local efforts in crime prevention, awareness,

14  and education.

15         (e)  Supporting the development of a coordinated

16  service network, including the exchange of information and

17  case referral among programs such as local victim and witness

18  assistance programs, state and local programs providing

19  services to the elderly, and any other established and

20  recognizable local programs devoted to decreasing the

21  incidence of fraud and reducing its impact upon victims.

22         (f)  Promoting a greater awareness of fraud and

23  encouraging a cooperative response to fraud by state and local

24  law enforcement officers and prosecutors, private security

25  officers, and business representatives.

26         (g)  Strengthening and expanding options for

27  communication to victims of fraud in order to assist them in

28  detecting the extent of the fraud perpetrated against them,

29  assist them during the investigation and prosecution of the

30  criminal fraud, and assist them in recouping losses from fraud

31  and managing the consequences of such fraud.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 17-E

    767-130-02E






  1         (h)  Providing general support and assistance for fraud

  2  victims during their actual involvement with the criminal

  3  justice system during the investigation of fraud as a crime

  4  and the prosecution of those who perpetrate the fraud.

  5         (i)  Providing information or sources of information of

  6  value to victims as they cope with the ramifications of

  7  criminal fraud, including, but not limited to, reestablishing

  8  credit ratings and credit damaged or destroyed by reason of

  9  identity theft or other fraud and theft.

10         (j)  Assisting in the identification and effective

11  delivery of training and awareness programs related to fraud

12  detection, investigation, prevention, and consequence

13  management.

14         (4)  With respect to the initiation or expansion of

15  local crime prevention efforts, projects supported by the

16  Fraud Prevention Unit shall, consistent with available

17  resources:

18         (a)  Use suitable and effective outreach and

19  educational techniques in order to raise the awareness of the

20  public with regard to potential fraud, efforts that can be

21  made to avoid becoming a victim of fraud, and ways to respond

22  when fraudulent activity is believed to have occurred.

23         (b)  Develop and deliver crime prevention information

24  to elderly persons regarding fraud, theft, grand theft, and

25  burglary.

26         (c)  Develop programs to provide literature on

27  training, information, and prevention to law enforcement

28  officers, custodians of elderly persons, health practitioners,

29  and social service providers regarding fraud perpetrated upon

30  elderly persons as well as other segments of the state's

31  population.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 17-E

    767-130-02E






  1         (d)  In cooperation with the Criminal Justice Standards

  2  and Training Commission, establish recommended curricula for

  3  training law enforcement officers in detecting, investigating,

  4  and preventing fraud and provide recommendations for the role

  5  of law enforcement officers in assisting victims of fraud in

  6  recovering stolen property, addressing identity theft,

  7  reestablishing credit ratings damaged or destroyed by reason

  8  of fraud, and otherwise responding to the impact of fraud.

  9         (e)  Review educational and intervention programs

10  regarding fraud prevention in order to determine a program's

11  potential application and value in addressing various types of

12  fraud perpetrated upon the public and maximize the

13  availability of effective programs to law enforcement agencies

14  and persons dealing with fraud and its impact.

15         (f)  Establish programs devoted to fraud prevention by

16  establishing partnership initiatives using volunteers and the

17  support of private businesses.

18         (5)  Any initiative or program funded under this

19  section must demonstrate ongoing effectiveness in assisting

20  the Office of the Attorney General in implementing its mission

21  as defined in this section.

22         (6)  The Attorney General may employ personnel as

23  necessary and to the extent funding is available in order to

24  ensure that the Fraud Prevention Unit meets its mission as

25  defined in this section. The Attorney General may use

26  volunteers to assist the unit, and these volunteers shall be

27  agents of the unit and shall be entitled to the sovereign

28  immunity protection of the state.

29         (7)  The Fraud Prevention Unit shall focus its efforts

30  primarily on organized, multijurisdictional fraud; violations

31  of s. 775.0844, Florida Statutes, the White Collar Crime

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 17-E

    767-130-02E






  1  Victim Protection Act; or other types of fraud that involve

  2  large numbers of real or potential victims. The unit shall, to

  3  the greatest extent possible, coordinate its efforts related

  4  to investigations with the Department of Law Enforcement and

  5  coordinate its efforts related to prosecutions of

  6  multijurisdictional fraud with the Office of Statewide

  7  Prosecution. However, this section does not prohibit the

  8  referral of any cases developed by, through, or with the

  9  assistance of the unit to any appropriate investigative or

10  prosecutorial entity. The unit shall, to the greatest extent

11  possible, coordinate its efforts related to assisting fraud

12  victims with victim assistance programs and units presently

13  established within or coordinated by the Office of the

14  Attorney General, other state agencies, the various victim

15  advocates within the state attorneys' offices, and victim

16  support entities within the Federal Government and the private

17  sector.

18         (8)  The Fraud Prevention Unit shall use and promote

19  the services of the Federal Trade Commission, including, but

20  not limited to, the commission's toll-free telephone services

21  and capabilities for Internet access when such services are

22  relevant to addressing the perpetration of fraud against the

23  public and businesses in this state. The unit shall avoid

24  duplicating services that are provided by other entities but

25  shall ensure that the availability of such services is clearly

26  communicated to those seeking the unit's assistance.

27         (9)  The Fraud Prevention Unit shall be developed and

28  operated using existing resources within the Office of the

29  Attorney General and funds and resources donated to the Office

30  of the Attorney General by businesses and others which are

31  specifically designated for use by the unit. Funds received by

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 17-E

    767-130-02E






  1  the unit may not be used to fund positions for investigators

  2  or law enforcement officers within law enforcement agencies or

  3  positions for prosecutors within the Office of Statewide

  4  Prosecution or the state attorneys' offices. Any state or

  5  local agency may temporarily assign an employee to the unit to

  6  assist in its staffing or operations. A private business may

  7  temporarily assign its employees to work with the unit;

  8  however, any employee so assigned remains at all times an

  9  employee of the private business. The Attorney General may use

10  volunteers to assist in the operations of the unit.

11         (10)  Upon the request of a victim of fraud or similar

12  crime within the scope of the mission of the Fraud Prevention

13  Unit, the unit may assist the victim in obtaining information

14  necessary to correct inaccuracies or errors in the victim's

15  credit report or other identifying information. However, the

16  unit may not provide legal representation to a victim of

17  fraud.

18         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

19

20            *****************************************

21                          HOUSE SUMMARY

22
      Creates the Fraud Prevention Unit within the Office of
23    the Attorney General. Requires that the unit establish a
      Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral Center.
24    Specifies duties of the center and the unit. Authorizes
      the use of volunteers. Requires that the unit coordinate
25    its investigations with other law enforcement agencies
      and victim assistance programs. Requires that the Office
26    of the Attorney General use existing resources in
      developing and operating the unit. Authorizes the use of
27    donated funds and resources. Prohibits the unit from
      providing legal representation to victims of fraud. See
28    bill for details.

29

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