HB 0323 2003
   
1 A bill to be entitled
2          An act relating to fraud prevention; creating the Fraud
3    Prevention Unit within the Office of the Attorney General
4    to improve and coordinate the state's response to fraud
5    and related crimes; requiring the Fraud Prevention Unit to
6    establish a Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral
7    Center to collect, refer, and analyze information
8    concerning fraud; specifying goals of the center;
9    specifying responsibilities of the Fraud Prevention Unit;
10    providing requirements for projects supported by the Fraud
11    Prevention Unit; requiring the unit to develop public
12    information programs and establish recommended training
13    curricula; authorizing the Attorney General to use
14    volunteers; providing that volunteers are exempt from
15    liability under the Florida Volunteer Protection Act;
16    requiring the Fraud Prevention Unit to coordinate its
17    investigations with other law enforcement agencies and
18    victim assistance programs; requiring the unit to use
19    services of the Federal Trade Commission; requiring that
20    the unit avoid duplicating services but communicate the
21    availability of those services; requiring that the Fraud
22    Prevention Unit be developed and operated using existing
23    resources; providing for the use of donated funds and
24    resources; authorizing state agencies and local businesses
25    to assign employees to assist the unit; authorizing the
26    unit to assist victims in correcting credit reports or
27    other identifying information; prohibiting the unit from
28    providing legal representation to victims of fraud;
29    providing an effective date.
30         
31          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32         
33          Section 1.Fraud prevention.--
34          (1) There is created within the Office of the Attorney
35    General the Fraud Prevention Unit. The mission of the unit is to
36    improve this state's response to fraud and crimes related to
37    fraud using cooperative efforts between state agencies,
38    businesses in the private sector, and private citizen
39    volunteers.
40          (2)(a) The Fraud Prevention Unit shall establish within
41    the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, another
42    state agency, or a designated private entity, as appropriate, a
43    Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral Center to which victims
44    of fraud may immediately turn in order to obtain information and
45    general assistance in dealing with a crime. The center shall
46    serve as an easily accessed, single point of contact for
47    consumers who are, or suspect that they may be, victims of fraud
48    and shall bridge the gap between the public, state agencies,
49    consumer organizations, and private businesses. The center shall
50    establish an effective program for collecting, referring, and
51    analyzing information and data concerning fraud. The center
52    shall focus on the goals of:
53          1. Prevention, which includes the education of consumers,
54    businesses, and law enforcement agencies.
55          2. Reporting, which includes information regarding victims
56    of fraud and persons suspected of committing fraud.
57          3. Restoration, which includes, if necessary, returning
58    the victim's credit and name to their original status.
59          (b) The center shall properly collect, track, analyze, and
60    disseminate data concerning complaints in order to better
61    address short-term enforcement concerns and long-term strategy
62    requirements. The center shall:
63          1. Provide a statewide methodology to manage complaint
64    information from consumers, regulatory and enforcement agencies,
65    affected businesses in the private sector, and consumer support
66    organizations.
67          2. Identify related complaints.
68          3. Collect, analyze, and produce accurate data concerning
69    the scope of fraud.
70          4. Develop and implement timely prevention and education
71    programs to reduce victimization by fraud, as well as to provide
72    important response strategies to those who have discovered that
73    they are victims of fraud.
74          5. Share complaint information and fraud data among
75    persons involved in investigations in the public and private
76    sector in a timely manner.
77          (3) In meeting its mission, the responsibilities of the
78    Fraud Prevention Unit shall include, but are not limited to:
79          (a) Creating an effective public and private partnership
80    to cooperatively address criminal fraud within the state as it
81    affects individual citizens and businesses. The public and
82    private partnership shall include professionals in the fields of
83    communications, financial services, insurance, information
84    management, law, marketing, technology, retail sales,
85    government, and law enforcement.
86          (b) Providing timely and effective information to the
87    public and to businesses in this state regarding the types of
88    fraud that may be perpetrated upon them and the efforts that may
89    be taken to lessen the possibility of becoming a victim of such
90    fraud.
91          (c) Providing information to the public and businesses and
92    encouraging the use of new and innovative refinements for fraud
93    prevention in this state, including the use of Internet
94    resources to facilitate access to government and private sector
95    programs designed to assist fraud victims.
96          (d) Furthering the goal of a statewide fraud prevention
97    network by supporting the initiation or expansion of statewide
98    and local efforts with regard to crime prevention, awareness,
99    and education.
100          (e) Supporting the development of a coordinated service
101    network, including the exchange of information and referral of
102    cases between programs such as local victim and witness
103    assistance programs, state and local programs providing services
104    to the elderly, or any other established and recognizable local
105    program devoted to decreasing the crime of fraud and reducing
106    its impact upon victims.
107          (f) Promoting a greater awareness of fraud and encouraging
108    a cooperative response to fraud by state and local law
109    enforcement officers and prosecutors, private security officers,
110    and business representatives.
111          (g) Strengthening and expanding options for communication
112    to victims of fraud in order to assist them in determining the
113    extent of the fraud perpetrated against them, assist them during
114    the investigation and prosecution of the criminal fraud, and
115    assist them in recouping losses from fraud and managing the
116    consequences of such fraud.
117          (h) Providing general support and assistance for fraud
118    victims while they are involved with the criminal justice system
119    during the investigation of fraud as a crime and the prosecution
120    of those who perpetrated the fraud.
121          (i) Providing information or sources of information of
122    value to victims as they cope with the ramifications of criminal
123    fraud, including, but not limited to, reestablishing credit
124    ratings and credit damaged or destroyed by reason of identity
125    theft or other fraud and theft.
126          (j) Assisting in the identification and effective delivery
127    of training and awareness programs related to fraud detection,
128    investigation, prevention, and consequence management.
129          (4) With respect to the initiation or expansion of local
130    crime prevention efforts, projects supported by the Fraud
131    Prevention Unit shall, consistent with available resources:
132          (a) Use suitable and effective outreach and educational
133    techniques in order to raise the awareness of the public with
134    regard to potential fraud, efforts that can be made to avoid
135    becoming a victim of fraud, and ways to respond when fraudulent
136    activity is believed to have occurred.
137          (b) Develop and deliver crime prevention information to
138    the elderly regarding fraud, theft, grand theft, and burglary.
139          (c) Develop programs to provide literature on training,
140    information, and prevention to law enforcement officers,
141    caregivers for the elderly, health care practitioners, and
142    social service providers regarding fraud perpetrated upon the
143    elderly as well as other segments of the state's population.
144          (d) In cooperation with the Criminal Justice Standards and
145    Training Commission, establish recommended curricula for
146    training law enforcement officers in detecting, investigating,
147    and preventing fraud and provide recommendations for the role of
148    law enforcement officers in assisting victims of fraud to
149    recover stolen property, address identity theft, reestablish
150    credit ratings damaged or destroyed by reason of fraud, and
151    otherwise respond to the impact of fraud.
152          (e) Review educational and intervention programs designed
153    to prevent fraud in order to determine a program's potential
154    application and value in addressing various types of fraud
155    perpetrated upon the public and maximize the availability of
156    effective programs to law enforcement agencies and persons
157    dealing with fraud and its impact.
158          (f) Establish programs devoted to fraud prevention through
159    establishing partnership initiatives using volunteers and the
160    support of private businesses.
161          (5) Any initiative or program funded under this section
162    must demonstrate ongoing effectiveness in assisting the Office
163    of the Attorney General in implementing the mission defined in
164    this section.
165          (6) The Attorney General may employ personnel as necessary
166    and to the extent funding is available in order to ensure that
167    the Fraud Prevention Unit meets the mission defined by this
168    section. The Attorney General may use volunteers to assist the
169    unit and these volunteers are covered by the provisions of s.
170    768.1355, Florida Statutes.
171          (7) In meeting its mission, the Fraud Prevention Unit
172    shall design its efforts to focus primarily on organized,
173    multijurisdictional fraud; violations of s. 775.0844, Florida
174    Statutes, the White Collar Crime Victim Protection Act; or other
175    types of fraud that involve large numbers of real or potential
176    victims. The Fraud Prevention Unit shall, to the greatest extent
177    possible, coordinate its efforts related to investigations with
178    the Department of Law Enforcement and coordinate its efforts
179    related to prosecutions of multijurisdictional fraud with the
180    Office of Statewide Prosecution. However, this section does not
181    prohibit the referral of any cases developed by, through, or
182    with the assistance of the unit to any appropriate investigative
183    or prosecutorial entity. The unit shall, to the greatest extent
184    possible, coordinate its efforts related to assisting fraud
185    victims with the victim assistance programs and units presently
186    established within or coordinated by the Office of the Attorney
187    General, other state agencies, the various victim advocates
188    within the state attorneys' offices, and victim support entities
189    within the Federal Government and the private sector.
190          (8) The Fraud Prevention Unit shall use and promote the
191    services of the Federal Trade Commission, including, but not
192    limited to, the commission's toll-free telephone services and
193    capabilities for Internet access, when such services are
194    relevant to addressing the perpetration of fraud against the
195    public and businesses in this state. The unit shall avoid
196    duplicating services that are provided by other entities, but
197    shall ensure that the availability of such services is clearly
198    communicated to those seeking the unit's assistance.
199          (9) The Fraud Prevention Unit shall be developed and
200    operated using existing resources within the Office of the
201    Attorney General and funds and resources donated to the Office
202    of the Attorney General by businesses and others that are
203    specifically designated for use by the unit. Funds received by
204    the unit may not be used to fund positions for investigators or
205    law enforcement officers within law enforcement agencies or
206    positions for prosecutors within the Office of Statewide
207    Prosecution or the state attorneys' offices. Any state or local
208    agency may temporarily assign an employee to the unit to assist
209    in its staffing or operations. A private business may
210    temporarily assign its employees to work with the unit; however,
211    any employee so assigned remains at all times an employee of the
212    private business. The Attorney General may use volunteers to
213    assist in the operations of the unit.
214          (10) Upon a request by a victim of fraud or a similar
215    crime that is within the scope of the mission of the Fraud
216    Prevention Unit, the unit may assist the victim in obtaining
217    information necessary to correct inaccuracies or errors in the
218    victim's credit report or other identifying information.
219    However, the unit may not provide legal representation to a
220    victim of fraud.
221          Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
222