Senate Bill sb0034E

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 34-E

    By Senator Burt





    16-2368-02

  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 Fraud Prevention Unit to

  7         establish a Statewide Complaint Receipt and

  8         Referral Center to collect, refer, and analyze

  9         information concerning fraud; specifying goals

10         of the center; specifying responsibilities of

11         the Fraud Prevention Unit; providing

12         requirements for projects supported by the

13         Fraud Prevention Unit; requiring the unit to

14         develop public information programs and

15         establish recommended training curricula;

16         authorizing the Attorney General to use

17         volunteers; providing that volunteers are

18         exempt from liability under the Florida

19         Volunteer Protection Act; requiring the Fraud

20         Prevention Unit to coordinate its

21         investigations with other law enforcement

22         agencies and victim-assistance programs;

23         requiring the unit to use services of the

24         Federal Trade Commission; requiring that the

25         unit avoid duplicating services but communicate

26         the availability of those services; requiring

27         that the Fraud Prevention Unit be developed and

28         operated using existing resources; providing

29         for the use of donated funds and resources;

30         authorizing state agencies and local businesses

31         to assign employees to assist the unit;

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 34-E
    16-2368-02




 1         authorizing the unit to assist victims in

 2         correcting credit reports or other identifying

 3         information; prohibiting the unit from

 4         providing legal representation to victims of

 5         fraud; providing an effective date.

 6  

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

 8  

 9         Section 1.  Fraud prevention.--

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

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

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

13  to fraud using cooperative efforts between state agencies,

14  businesses in the private sector, and private citizen

15  volunteers.

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

17  within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,

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

19  appropriate, a Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral Center

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

21  obtain information and general assistance in dealing with a

22  crime. The center shall serve as an easily-accessed, single

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

24  may be, victims of fraud, and shall bridge the gap between the

25  public, state agencies, consumer organizations, and private

26  businesses. The center shall establish an effective program

27  for collecting, referring, and analyzing information and data

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

29         1.  Prevention, which includes the "real-time"

30  education of consumers, businesses, and law enforcement

31  agencies;

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 34-E
    16-2368-02




 1         2.  Reporting, which includes "real-time" information

 2  regarding victims of fraud and persons suspected of committing

 3  fraud; and

 4         3.  Restoration, which includes, if necessary,

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

 6  status.

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

 8  and disseminate data concerning complaints in order to better

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

10  requirements. The center shall:

11         1.  Provide a statewide methodology to manage complaint

12  information from consumers, regulatory and enforcement

13  agencies, affected businesses in the private sector, and

14  consumer-support organizations;

15         2.  Identify related complaints;

16         3.  Collect, analyze, and produce accurate data

17  concerning the scope of fraud;

18         4.  Develop and implement timely prevention and

19  education programs to reduce victimization by fraud, as well

20  as to provide important response strategies to those who have

21  discovered that they are victims of fraud; and

22         5.  Share complaint information and fraud data among

23  investigations in the public and private sector in a timely

24  manner.

25         (3)  In meeting its mission, the responsibilities of

26  the Fraud Prevention Unit include, but are not limited to:

27         (a)  Creating an effective public and private

28  partnership to cooperatively address criminal fraud within the

29  state as it affects individual citizens and businesses. The

30  public and private partnership shall include professionals in

31  the fields of communications, financial services, insurance,

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 34-E
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 1  information management, law, marketing, technology, retail

 2  sales, government, and law enforcement.

 3         (b)  Providing timely and effective information to the

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

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

 6  can be taken to lower the possibility of becoming a victim of

 7  such fraud.

 8         (c)  Providing information to the public and businesses

 9  and encouraging the use of new and innovative refinements for

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

11  resources to facilitate access to government and

12  private-sector programs designed to assist fraud victims.

13         (d)  Furthering the goal of a statewide

14  fraud-prevention network by supporting the initiation or

15  expansion of statewide and local efforts in crime prevention,

16  awareness, and education.

17         (e)  Supporting the development of a coordinated

18  service network, including the exchange of information and

19  case referral between programs such as local victim and

20  witness assistance programs, state and local programs

21  providing services to the elderly, or any other established

22  and recognizable local programs devoted to decreasing the

23  crime of fraud and reducing its impact upon victims.

24         (f)  Promoting a greater awareness of fraud and

25  encouraging a cooperative response to fraud by state and local

26  law enforcement officers and prosecutors, private security

27  officers, and business representatives.

28         (g)  Strengthening and expanding options for

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

30  detecting the extent of the fraud perpetrated against them,

31  assist them during the investigation and prosecution of the

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 34-E
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 1  criminal fraud, and assist them in recouping losses from fraud

 2  and managing the consequences of such fraud.

 3         (h)  Providing general support and assistance for fraud

 4  victims during their actual involvement with the criminal

 5  justice system during the investigation of fraud as a crime

 6  and the prosecution of those who perpetrate the fraud.

 7         (i)  Providing information or sources of information of

 8  value to victims as they cope with ramifications of criminal

 9  fraud, including, but not limited to, reestablishing credit

10  ratings and credit damaged or destroyed by reason of identity

11  theft or other fraud and theft.

12         (j)  Assisting in the identification and effective

13  delivery of training and awareness programs related to fraud

14  detection, investigation, prevention, and consequence

15  management.

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

17  local crime-prevention efforts, projects supported by the

18  Fraud Prevention Unit shall, consistent with available

19  resources:

20         (a)  Use suitable and effective outreach and

21  educational techniques in order to raise the awareness of the

22  public to potential fraud, to efforts that can be taken to

23  avoid becoming a victim of fraud, and to the responses to be

24  taken when fraudulent activity is believed to have occurred;

25         (b)  Develop and deliver crime-prevention information

26  to the elderly regarding fraud, theft, grand theft, and

27  burglary;

28         (c)  Develop programs to provide literature on

29  training, information, and prevention to law enforcement

30  officers, elderly care custodians, health practitioners, and

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 34-E
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 1  social service providers regarding fraud perpetrated upon the

 2  elderly as well as other segments of the state's population;

 3         (d)  In cooperation with the Criminal Justice Standards

 4  and Training Commission, establish recommended curricula for

 5  training law enforcement officers in detecting, investigating,

 6  and preventing fraud and provide recommendations for the role

 7  of law enforcement officers in assisting victims of fraud to

 8  recover stolen property, address identity theft, reestablish

 9  credit ratings damaged or destroyed by reason of fraud, and

10  otherwise respond to the impact of fraud;

11         (e)  Review educational and intervention programs in

12  preventing fraud in order to determine a program's potential

13  application and value in addressing various types of fraud

14  perpetrated upon the public and maximize the availability of

15  effective programs to law enforcement agencies and persons

16  dealing with fraud and its impact; and

17         (f)  Establish programs devoted to fraud prevention

18  through establishing partnership initiatives using volunteers

19  and the support of private businesses.

20         (5)  Any initiative or program funded under this

21  section must demonstrate an ongoing effectiveness in assisting

22  the Office of the Attorney General in implementing the mission

23  defined in this section.

24         (6)  The Attorney General may employ personnel as

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

26  ensure that the Fraud Prevention Unit meets the mission

27  defined by this section. The Attorney General may use

28  volunteers to assist the unit and these volunteers are covered

29  by the provisions of section 768.1355, Florida Statutes.

30         (7)  In meeting its mission, the Fraud Prevention Unit

31  shall design its efforts to focus primarily on organized,

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 34-E
    16-2368-02




 1  multijurisdictional fraud; violations of section 775.0844,

 2  Florida Statutes, the White Collar Crime Victim Protection

 3  Act; or other types of fraud that involve large numbers of

 4  real or potential victims. The Fraud Prevention Unit shall, to

 5  the greatest extent possible, coordinate its efforts related

 6  to investigations with the Department of Law Enforcement and

 7  its efforts related to prosecutions of multijurisdictional

 8  fraud with the Office of Statewide Prosecution. However, this

 9  section does not prohibit the referral of any cases developed

10  by, through, or with the assistance of the unit to any

11  appropriate investigative or prosecutorial entity. The unit

12  shall, to the greatest extent possible, coordinate its efforts

13  related to assisting fraud victims with the victims'

14  assistance programs and units presently established within or

15  coordinated by the Office of the Attorney General, other state

16  agencies, the various victims' advocates within the state

17  attorneys' offices, and victim-support entities within the

18  federal government and private sector.

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

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

21  not limited to, the commission's toll-free phone services and

22  capabilities for Internet access, when such services are

23  relevant to addressing the perpetration of fraud against the

24  public and the state's businesses. The unit shall avoid

25  duplicating services that are provided by other entities, but

26  shall assure that the availability of such services is clearly

27  communicated to those seeking the unit's assistance.

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

29  operated using existing resources within the Office of the

30  Attorney General and funds and resources donated to the Office

31  of the Attorney General by businesses and others which are

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 34-E
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 1  specifically designated for use by the unit. Funds received by

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

 3  or law enforcement officers within law enforcement agencies or

 4  positions for prosecutors within the Office of Statewide

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

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

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

 8  temporarily assign its employees to work with the unit;

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

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

11  volunteers to assist in the operations of the unit.

12         (10)  Upon a request by a victim of fraud or similar

13  crime which is within the scope of the mission of the Fraud

14  Prevention Unit, the unit may assist the victim in obtaining

15  information necessary to correct inaccuracies or errors in the

16  victim's credit report or other identifying information.

17  However, the unit may not provide legal representation to a

18  victim of fraud.

19         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

20  

21            *****************************************

22                          SENATE SUMMARY

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

30  

31  

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