HB 0323 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Agriculture recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to fraud prevention; creating the Fraud
12	Prevention Unit within the Office of the Attorney General
13	to improve and coordinate the state's response to fraud
14	and related crimes; requiring the Fraud Prevention Unit to
15	establish a Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral
16	Center to collect, refer, and analyze information
17	concerning fraud; specifying goals of the center;
18	specifying responsibilities of the Fraud Prevention Unit;
19	providing requirements for projects supported by the Fraud
20	Prevention Unit; requiring the unit to develop public
21	information programs and establish recommended training
22	curricula; authorizing the Attorney General to use
23	volunteers; providing that volunteers are exempt from
24	liability under the Florida Volunteer Protection Act;
25	requiring the Fraud Prevention Unit to coordinate its
26	investigations with other law enforcement agencies and
27	victim assistance programs; requiring the unit to use
28	services of the Federal Trade Commission; requiring that
29	the unit avoid duplicating services but communicate the
30	availability of those services; providing for the use of
31	donated funds and resources; authorizing state agencies
32	and local businesses to assign employees to assist the
33	unit; authorizing the unit to assist victims in correcting
34	credit reports or other identifying information;
35	prohibiting the unit from providing legal representation
36	to victims of fraud; providing an effective date.
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38	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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40	Section 1. Fraud prevention.--
41	(1) There is created within the Office of the Attorney
42	General the Fraud Prevention Unit. The mission of the unit is to
43	improve this state's response to fraud and crimes related to
44	fraud using cooperative efforts between state agencies,
45	businesses in the private sector, and private citizen
46	volunteers.
47	(2)(a) The Fraud Prevention Unit shall establish a
48	Statewide Complaint Receipt and Referral Center to which victims
49	of fraud may immediately turn in order to obtain information and
50	general assistance in dealing with a crime. The center shall
51	serve as an easily accessed, single point of contact for
52	consumers who are, or suspect that they may be, victims of fraud
53	and shall bridge the gap between the public, state agencies,
54	consumer organizations, and private businesses. The center shall
55	establish an effective program for collecting, referring, and
56	analyzing information and data concerning fraud. The center
57	shall focus on the goals of:
58	1. Prevention, which includes the education of consumers,
59	businesses, and law enforcement agencies.
60	2. Reporting, which includes information regarding victims
61	of fraud and persons suspected of committing fraud.
62	3. Restoration, which includes, if necessary, returning
63	the victim's credit and name to their original status.
64	(b) The center shall properly collect, track, analyze, and
65	disseminate data concerning complaints in order to better
66	address short-term enforcement concerns and long-term strategy
67	requirements. The center shall:
68	1. Provide a statewide methodology to manage complaint
69	information from consumers, regulatory and enforcement agencies,
70	affected businesses in the private sector, and consumer support
71	organizations.
72	2. Identify related complaints.
73	3. Collect, analyze, and produce accurate data concerning
74	the scope of fraud.
75	4. Develop and implement timely prevention and education
76	programs to reduce victimization by fraud, as well as to provide
77	important response strategies to those who have discovered that
78	they are victims of fraud.
79	5. Share complaint information and fraud data among
80	persons involved in investigations in the public and private
81	sector in a timely manner.
82	(3) In meeting its mission, the responsibilities of the
83	Fraud Prevention Unit shall include, but are not limited to:
84	(a) Creating an effective public and private partnership
85	to cooperatively address criminal fraud within the state as it
86	affects individual citizens and businesses. The public and
87	private partnership shall include professionals in the fields of
88	communications, financial services, insurance, information
89	management, law, marketing, technology, retail sales,
90	government, and law enforcement.
91	(b) Providing timely and effective information to the
92	public and to businesses in this state regarding the types of
93	fraud that may be perpetrated upon them and the efforts that may
94	be taken to lessen the possibility of becoming a victim of such
95	fraud.
96	(c) Providing information to the public and businesses and
97	encouraging the use of new and innovative refinements for fraud
98	prevention in this state, including the use of Internet
99	resources to facilitate access to government and private sector
100	programs designed to assist fraud victims.
101	(d) Furthering the goal of a statewide fraud prevention
102	network by supporting the initiation or expansion of statewide
103	and local efforts with regard to crime prevention, awareness,
104	and education.
105	(e) Supporting the development of a coordinated service
106	network, including the exchange of information and referral of
107	cases between programs such as local victim and witness
108	assistance programs, state and local programs providing services
109	to the elderly, or any other established and recognizable local
110	program devoted to decreasing the crime of fraud and reducing
111	its impact upon victims.
112	(f) Promoting a greater awareness of fraud and encouraging
113	a cooperative response to fraud by state and local law
114	enforcement officers and prosecutors, private security officers,
115	and business representatives.
116	(g) Strengthening and expanding options for communication
117	to victims of fraud in order to assist them in determining the
118	extent of the fraud perpetrated against them, assist them during
119	the investigation and prosecution of the criminal fraud, and
120	assist them in recouping losses from fraud and managing the
121	consequences of such fraud.
122	(h) Providing general support and assistance for fraud
123	victims while they are involved with the criminal justice system
124	during the investigation of fraud as a crime and the prosecution
125	of those who perpetrated the fraud.
126	(i) Providing information or sources of information of
127	value to victims as they cope with the ramifications of criminal
128	fraud, including, but not limited to, reestablishing credit
129	ratings and credit damaged or destroyed by reason of identity
130	theft or other fraud and theft.
131	(j) Assisting in the identification and effective delivery
132	of training and awareness programs related to fraud detection,
133	investigation, prevention, and consequence management.
134	(4) With respect to the initiation or expansion of local
135	crime prevention efforts, projects supported by the Fraud
136	Prevention Unit shall, consistent with available resources:
137	(a) Use suitable and effective outreach and educational
138	techniques in order to raise the awareness of the public with
139	regard to potential fraud, efforts that can be made to avoid
140	becoming a victim of fraud, and ways to respond when fraudulent
141	activity is believed to have occurred.
142	(b) Develop and deliver crime prevention information to
143	the elderly regarding fraud, theft, grand theft, and burglary.
144	(c) Develop programs to provide literature on training,
145	information, and prevention to law enforcement officers,
146	caregivers for the elderly, health care practitioners, and
147	social service providers regarding fraud perpetrated upon the
148	elderly as well as other segments of the state's population.
149	(d) In cooperation with the Criminal Justice Standards and
150	Training Commission, establish recommended curricula for
151	training law enforcement officers in detecting, investigating,
152	and preventing fraud and provide recommendations for the role of
153	law enforcement officers in assisting victims of fraud to
154	recover stolen property, address identity theft, reestablish
155	credit ratings damaged or destroyed by reason of fraud, and
156	otherwise respond to the impact of fraud.
157	(e) Review educational and intervention programs designed
158	to prevent fraud in order to determine a program's potential
159	application and value in addressing various types of fraud
160	perpetrated upon the public and maximize the availability of
161	effective programs to law enforcement agencies and persons
162	dealing with fraud and its impact.
163	(f) Establish programs devoted to fraud prevention through
164	establishing partnership initiatives using volunteers and the
165	support of private businesses.
166	(5) Any initiative or program funded under this section
167	must demonstrate ongoing effectiveness in assisting the Office
168	of the Attorney General in implementing the mission defined in
169	this section.
170	(6) The Attorney General may employ personnel as necessary
171	and to the extent funding is available in order to ensure that
172	the Fraud Prevention Unit meets the mission defined by this
173	section. The Attorney General may use volunteers to assist the
174	unit and these volunteers are covered by the provisions of s.
175	768.1355, Florida Statutes.
176	(7) In meeting its mission, the Fraud Prevention Unit
177	shall design its efforts to focus primarily on organized,
178	multijurisdictional fraud; violations of s. 775.0844, Florida
179	Statutes, the White Collar Crime Victim Protection Act; or other
180	types of fraud that involve large numbers of real or potential
181	victims. The Fraud Prevention Unit shall, to the greatest extent
182	possible, coordinate its efforts related to investigations with
183	the Department of Law Enforcement and coordinate its efforts
184	related to prosecutions of multijurisdictional fraud with the
185	Office of Statewide Prosecution. However, this section does not
186	prohibit the referral of any cases developed by, through, or
187	with the assistance of the unit to any appropriate investigative
188	or prosecutorial entity. The unit shall, to the greatest extent
189	possible, coordinate its efforts related to assisting fraud
190	victims with the victim assistance programs and units presently
191	established within or coordinated by the Office of the Attorney
192	General, other state agencies, the various victim advocates
193	within the state attorneys' offices, and victim support entities
194	within the Federal Government and the private sector.
195	(8) The Fraud Prevention Unit shall use and promote the
196	services of the Federal Trade Commission, including, but not
197	limited to, the commission's toll-free telephone services and
198	capabilities for Internet access, when such services are
199	relevant to addressing the perpetration of fraud against the
200	public and businesses in this state. The unit shall avoid
201	duplicating services that are provided by other entities, but
202	shall ensure that the availability of such services is clearly
203	communicated to those seeking the unit's assistance.
204	(9) The Fraud Prevention Unit shall be developed and
205	operated using funds and resources donated to the Office of the
206	Attorney General by businesses and others that are specifically
207	designated for use by the unit. Funds received by the unit shall
208	be deposited into the Fraud Prevention Unit Trust Fund and may
209	be expended upon authorization by the Legislature or the
210	Legislative Budget Commission. Funds received by the unit may
211	not be used to fund positions for investigators or law
212	enforcement officers within law enforcement agencies or
213	positions for prosecutors within the Office of Statewide
214	Prosecution or the state attorneys' offices. Any state or local
215	agency may temporarily assign an employee to the unit to assist
216	in its staffing or operations. A private business may
217	temporarily assign its employees to work with the unit; however,
218	any employee so assigned remains at all times an employee of the
219	private business. The Attorney General may use volunteers to
220	assist in the operations of the unit.
221	(10) Upon a request by a victim of fraud or a similar
222	crime that is within the scope of the mission of the Fraud
223	Prevention Unit, the unit may assist the victim in obtaining
224	information necessary to correct inaccuracies or errors in the
225	victim's credit report or other identifying information.
226	However, the unit may not provide legal representation to a
227	victim of fraud.
228	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.