IB 

Union Calendar No. 43 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1748 

[Report No. 111–95, Part I] 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance the investigation and 

prosecution of mortgage fraud and financial institution fraud, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2009 

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, and Mrs. BIGGERT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 

to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Financial 

Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

MAY 4, 2009 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

MAY 4, 2009 

Additional sponsors: Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. WALZ, and 

Mr. SHERMAN

MAY 4, 2009 

The Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Financial Services 

discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
2 

•HR 1748 RH

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 26, 2009] 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance the 

investigation and prosecution of mortgage fraud and financial institution fraud, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fight Fraud Act of 

5 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO IMPROVE MORTGAGE, SECURI7 TIES, AND FINANCIAL FRAUD RECOVERY AND 

8 ENFORCEMENT. 

9 (a) DEFINITION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION AMENDED

10 TO INCLUDE MORTGAGE LENDING BUSINESS.—Section 20 

11 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

13 semicolon; 

14 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 

15 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

16 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(10) a mortgage lending business or any person 

18 or entity that makes in whole or in part a federally 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
3 

•HR 1748 RH

1 related mortgage loan as defined in section 3 of the 

2 Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974.’’. 

3 (b) MORTGAGE LENDING BUSINESS DEFINED.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 26 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 27. Mortgage lending business defined 

8 ‘‘In this title, the term ‘mortgage lending business’ 

9 means an organization which finances or refinances any 

10 debt secured by an interest in real estate, including private 

11 mortgage companies and any subsidiaries of such organiza12 tions, and whose activities affect interstate or foreign com13 merce.’’. 

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec15 tions at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 18, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

‘‘27. Mortgage lending business defined.’’. 

18 (c) FALSE STATEMENTS IN MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS

19 AMENDED TO INCLUDE FALSE STATEMENTS BY MORTGAGE

20 BROKERS AND AGENTS OF MORTGAGE LENDING BUSI21 NESSES.—Section 1014 of title 18, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘the International 

24 Banking Act of 1978),’’; and 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
4 

•HR 1748 RH

1 (2) by inserting after ‘‘section 25(a) of the Fed2 eral Reserve Act’’ the following: ‘‘, or a mortgage 

3 lending business, or any person or entity that makes 

4 in whole or in part a federally related mortgage loan 

5 as defined in section 3 of the Real Estate Settlement 

6 Procedures Act of 1974’’. 

7 (d) MAJOR FRAUD AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT

8 AMENDED TO INCLUDE ECONOMIC RELIEF AND TROUBLED

9 ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM FUNDS.—Section 1031(a) of title 

10 18, United States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘in any procurement’’ and in12 serting ‘‘in any Federal assistance in the form of fi13 nancial relief or stimulus provided by the Govern14 ment, including through the Troubled Assets Relief 

15 Program, whether through grant, contract, sub16 contract, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, pur17 chase of preferred stock, or otherwise, or any procure18 ment’’; and 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘the contract, subcontract’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘such grant, contract, subcontract, subsidy, 

21 loan, guarantee, insurance, purchase, or other form of 

22 financial relief or stimulus’’. 

23 (e) SECURITIES FRAUD AMENDED TO INCLUDE

24 FRAUD INVOLVING OPTIONS AND FUTURES IN COMMOD25 ITIES.— 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
5 

•HR 1748 RH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1348 of title 18, 

2 United States Code, is amended— 

3 (A) in the caption, by inserting ‘‘and 

4 commodities’’ after ‘‘Securities’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘any 

6 commodity for future delivery, or any option on 

7 a commodity for future delivery, or’’ after ‘‘any 

8 person in connection with’’; and 

9 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘any 

10 commodity for future delivery, or any option on 

11 a commodity for future delivery, or’’ after ‘‘in 

12 connection with the purchase or sale of’’. 

13 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

14 to section 1348 in the table of sections at the begin15 ning of chapter 63 of title 18, United States Code, is 

16 amended by inserting ‘‘and commodities’’ after ‘‘Secu17 rities’’. 

18 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR 

19 INVESTIGATORS AND PROSECUTORS FOR 

20 MORTGAGE FRAUD, SECURITIES AND COM21 MODITIES FRAUD, AND OTHER CRIMES OF 

22 FRAUD. 

23 (a) AUTHORIZATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF JUS24 TICE.— 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
6 

•HR 1748 RH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap2 propriated to the Attorney General, $185,000,000 for 

3 fiscal year 2010 and $175,000,000 for fiscal year 

4 2011, for the purposes of investigations, prosecutions, 

5 and civil enforcement actions against possible fraud 

6 (including mortgage fraud and securities and com7 modities fraud) relating to a financial institution, in8 cluding financial institutions receiving Federal as9 sistance under the Troubled Assets Relief Program or 

10 otherwise. 

11 (2) ALLOCATIONS.—The amounts authorized to 

12 be appropriated under paragraph (1) shall be allo13 cated as follows: 

14 (A) Federal Bureau of Investigation: 

15 $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and $65,000,000 

16 for fiscal year 2011, an appropriate percentage 

17 of which amounts shall be used to investigate 

18 mortgage fraud. 

19 (B) The offices of the United States Attor20 neys: $50,000,000. 

21 (C) The criminal division of the Depart22 ment of Justice: $20,000,000. 

23 (D) The civil division of the Department of 

24 Justice: $15,000,000. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
7 

•HR 1748 RH

1 (E) The tax division of the Department of 

2 Justice: $5,000,000. 

3 (F) The Director of the Administrative Of4 fice of the United States Courts: $20,000,000. 

5 (b) AUTHORIZATIONS FOR THE POSTAL INSPECTION

6 SERVICE.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the 

7 Postal Inspection Service of the United States Postal Serv8 ice, $30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 and 2011 

9 for investigations into possible fraud described in subsection 

10 (a)(1). 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATIONS FOR THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

12 FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVEL13 OPMENT.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the In14 spector General of the Department of Housing and Urban 

15 Development, $30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 

16 and 2011 for investigations into possible fraud described 

17 in subsection (a)(1). 

18 (d) AUTHORIZATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES SE19 CRET SERVICE.—There is authorized to be appropriated to 

20 the United States Secret Service of the Department of 

21 Homeland Security, $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

22 2010 and 2011 for investigations into possible fraud de23 scribed in subsection (a)(1). 

24 (e) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATIONS; AVAILABILITY.— 

25 The amounts authorized under this section are in addition 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
8 

•HR 1748 RH

1 to amounts otherwise authorized in other Acts, and shall 

2 remain available until expended. 

3 (f) DEFENSE SERVICES.—Funds made available under 

4 this section by the recipient described in subsection 

5 (a)(2)(F) shall be used to cover costs associated with pro6 viding defense services to defendants investigated for or 

7 charged with an offense described in subsection (a)(1). 

8 (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Following the final ex9 penditure of all funds appropriated pursuant to authoriza10 tion under this section, the Attorney General, in consulta11 tion with the United States Postal Inspection Service, the 

12 Inspector General for the Department of Housing and 

13 Urban Development, and the Secretary of Homeland Secu14 rity, shall submit a report to Congress identifying— 

15 (1) the amounts expended under each of sub16 sections (a), (b), (c), and (d) and a certification of 

17 compliance with the requirements listed in subsection 

18 (e); and 

19 (2) the amounts recovered as a result of criminal 

20 or civil restitution, fines, penalties, and other mone21 tary recoveries resulting from criminal, civil, or ad22 ministrative proceedings and settlements undertaken 

23 with funds authorized by this Act. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
9 

•HR 1748 RH

1 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCE2 MENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

4 amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts, the 

5 Attorney General is authorized to award grants to States 

6 to establish and develop programs to increase and enhance 

7 enforcement against mortgage fraud, securities and com8 modities fraud, and financial institution fraud, including 

9 enforcement against the use of computers in committing 

10 such fraud. 

11 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to be considered for 

12 a grant under subsection (a), a State shall submit an appli13 cation to the Attorney General at such time, in such man14 ner, and containing such information, including as de15 scribed in subsection (d), as the Attorney General may re16 quire. 

17 (c) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—A grant awarded to 

18 a State under subsection (a) shall be used by the State to 

19 establish and develop programs to— 

20 (1) assist State and local law enforcement agen21 cies in enforcing State and local criminal laws relat22 ing to criminal activity described in subsection (a); 

23 (2) assist State and local law enforcement agen24 cies in educating the public to prevent and identify 

25 such criminal activity; 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
10 

•HR 1748 RH

1 (3) educate and train State and local law en2 forcement officers and prosecutors to conduct inves3 tigations, forensic analyses of evidence, and prosecu4 tions relating to such criminal activity; 

5 (4) assist State and local law enforcement offi6 cers and prosecutors in acquiring computer and other 

7 equipment to conduct investigations and forensic 

8 analyses of evidence relating to such criminal activ9 ity; 

10 (5) assist public defenders with providing defense 

11 services to defendants in cases in which the defendant 

12 is charged with any such criminal activity; and 

13 (6) facilitate and promote communication be14 tween Federal, State, and local law enforcement to 

15 improve the sharing of Federal law enforcement ex16 pertise and information about the investigation, fo17 rensic analysis of evidence, and prosecution relating 

18 to such criminal activity, with State and local law 

19 enforcement officers and prosecutors, including 

20 through the use of multi-jurisdictional task forces. 

21 (d) ASSURANCES AND ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to 

22 receive a grant under subsection (a), a State shall provide 

23 assurances to the Attorney General that the State— 

24 (1) will provide an assessment of the resource 

25 needs of the State and units of local government withVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:40 May 04, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1748.RH H1748

pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
11 

•HR 1748 RH

1 in that State, including criminal justice resources 

2 being devoted to the investigation and enforcement of 

3 laws related to criminal activity described in sub4 section (a); 

5 (2) will develop a plan for coordinating the pro6 grams funded under this section with other federally 

7 funded technical assistance and training programs; 

8 and 

9 (3) will submit to the Attorney General applica10 ble reports in accordance with subsection (f). 

11 (e) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Federal share of a grant 

12 received under this section may not exceed 75 percent of 

13 the total cost of a program or proposal funded under this 

14 section unless the Attorney General waives, wholly or in 

15 part, the requirements of this subsection. 

16 (f) REPORTS.—For each year that a State receives a 

17 grant under subsection (a) for a program, the State shall 

18 submit to the Attorney General a report on the results, in19 cluding the effectiveness, of such program during such year. 

20 (g) DEFINITION OF STATE.—For the purposes of this 

21 section, the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, 

22 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

23 the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, 

24 and the Northern Mariana Islands. 

25 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
12 

•HR 1748 RH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap2 propriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for 

3 each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2011. 

4 (2) LIMITATIONS.—Of the amount made avail5 able to carry out this section in any fiscal year, not 

6 more than 3 percent may be used for salaries and ad7 ministrative expenses for the Department of Justice. 

8 (3) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Each State submitting 

9 an application for, and eligible to receive, a grant 

10 under this section for a fiscal year shall be allocated 

11 under this section, in each such fiscal year, not less 

12 than 0.75 percent of the total amount appropriated in 

13 such fiscal year for grants pursuant to this section, 

14 except that not less than 0.25 percent of such total 

15 amount shall be allocated to the United States Virgin 

16 Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern 

17 Mariana Islands, collectively. 

18 (4) GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—Subject to 

19 paragraph (3), the Attorney General may use 

20 amounts made available pursuant to authorizations 

21 under this section to make grants to Indian tribes for 

22 use in accordance with this section. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
13 

•HR 1748 RH

1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF NATIONAL 

2 WHITE COLLAR CRIME CENTER. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime Con4 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating part JJ, as added by sec7 tion 952 of Public Law 110–315 (relating to Loan 

8 Repayment for Prosecutors and Public Defenders), as 

9 part LL, and moving such part so that such part fol10 lows part KK; 

11 (2) in part LL, as so redesignated and moved by 

12 paragraph (1), by redesignating section 3001 as sec13 tion 3021; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new part: 

15 ‘‘PART MM—NATIONAL WHITE COLLAR CRIME 

16 CENTER GRANTS 

17 ‘‘SEC. 3031. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANTS PROGRAM. 

18 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General is au19 thorized to award grants and enter into contracts with 

20 State and local criminal justice agencies and nonprofit or21 ganizations for the purpose of improving the detection, in22 vestigation, and prosecution of covered criminal activities. 

23 ‘‘(b) COVERED CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES DEFINED.—For 

24 purposes of this part, the term ‘covered criminal activity’ 

25 means a criminal conspiracy or activity or a terrorist conVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:40 May 04, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1748.RH H1748

pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
14 

•HR 1748 RH

1 spiracy or activity that spans jurisdictional boundaries, in2 cluding the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) Terrorism. 

4 ‘‘(2) Economic crime, including financial fraud 

5 and mortgage fraud. 

6 ‘‘(3) High-tech crime, also known as cybercrime 

7 or computer crime, including internet-based crime 

8 against children and child pornography. 

9 ‘‘(c) CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY DEFINED.—For pur10 poses of this part, the term ‘criminal justice agency’, with 

11 respect to a State or a unit of local government within such 

12 State, includes a law enforcement agency, a State regu13 latory body with criminal investigative authority, and a 

14 State or local prosecution office to the extent that such agen15 cy, body, or office, respectively, is involved in the preven16 tion, investigation, and prosecution of covered criminal ac17 tivities. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 3032. AUTHORIZED PROGRAMS. 

19 ‘‘Grants and contracts awarded under this part may 

20 be made only for the following programs, with respect to 

21 the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of covered 

22 criminal activities: 

23 ‘‘(1) Programs to provide a nationwide support 

24 system for State and local criminal justice agencies. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
15 

•HR 1748 RH

1 ‘‘(2) Programs to assist State and local criminal 

2 justice agencies to develop, establish, and maintain 

3 intelligence-focused policing strategies and related in4 formation sharing. 

5 ‘‘(3) Programs to provide training and inves6 tigative support services to State and local criminal 

7 justice agencies to provide such agencies with skills 

8 and resources needed to investigate and prosecute such 

9 criminal activities and related criminal activities. 

10 ‘‘(4) Programs to provide research support, to es11 tablish partnerships, and to provide other resources to 

12 aid State and local criminal justice agencies to pre13 vent, investigate, and prosecute such criminal activi14 ties and related problems. 

15 ‘‘(5) Programs to provide information and re16 search to the general public to facilitate the preven17 tion of such criminal activities. 

18 ‘‘(6) Programs to establish National training 

19 and research centers regionally, including within Vir20 ginia, Texas, and Michigan, to provide training and 

21 research services for State and local criminal justice 

22 agencies. 

23 ‘‘(7) Any other programs specified by the Attor24 ney General as furthering the purposes of this part. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
16 

•HR 1748 RH

1 ‘‘SEC. 3033. APPLICATION. 

2 ‘‘To be eligible to be considered for an award of a grant 

3 or contract under this part, an entity shall submit to the 

4 Attorney General an application in such form and manner, 

5 and containing such information, as required by the Attor6 ney General. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 3034. RULES AND REGULATIONS. 

8 ‘‘The Attorney General shall promulgate such rules 

9 and regulations as are necessary to carry out this part, in10 cluding rules and regulations for submitting and reviewing 

11 applications under section 3033.’’. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.—Section 

13 1001(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3793) is amended by adding 

14 at the end the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(27) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 

16 out part MM— 

17 ‘‘(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

18 ‘‘(B) $28,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

19 ‘‘(C) $31,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

20 ‘‘(D) $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

21 ‘‘(E) $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

22 ‘‘(F) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS

pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 43 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1748 

[Report No. 111–95, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance 

other purposes. fraud and financial institution fraud, and for the investigation and prosecution of mortgage 

MAY 4, 2009 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

M

amendment 

AY 4, 2009 

The Committees on Oversight and Government Reform 

Union and ordered to be printed Committee of the Whole House on the State of the and Financial Services discharged; committed to the 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with BILLS