I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1862

To combat nursing home fraud and abuse, increase protections for victims

of telemarketing fraud, enhance safeguards for pension plans and health

care benefit programs, and enhance penalties for crimes against seniors,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 19, 1999

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. HOEFFEL, and Mr. UDALL of New Mexico)

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the

Judiciary

A BILL

To combat nursing home fraud and abuse, increase protections for victims of telemarketing fraud, enhance safeguards for pension plans and health care benefit programs, and enhance penalties for crimes against seniors,

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Seniors Safety Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTING CRIMES AGAINST

SENIORS

Sec. 101. Study of crimes against seniors.

Sec. 102. Inclusion of seniors in national crime victimization survey.

TITLE II—COMBATING CRIMES AGAINST SENIORS

Sec. 201. Enhanced sentencing penalties based on age of victim.

Sec. 202. Study and report on health care fraud sentences.

Sec. 203. Increased penalties for fraud resulting in serious injury or death.

Sec. 204. Safeguarding pension plans from fraud and theft.

Sec. 205. Additional civil penalties for defrauding pension plans.

Sec. 206. Punishing bribery and graft in connection with employee benefit

plans.

TITLE III—PREVENTING TELEMARKETING FRAUD

Sec. 301. Centralized complaint and consumer education service for victims of

telemarketing fraud.

Sec. 302. Blocking of telemarketing scams.

TITLE IV—PREVENTING HEALTH CARE FRAUD

Sec. 401. Injunctive authority relating to false claims and illegal kickback

schemes involving Federal health care programs.

Sec. 402. Authorized investigative demand procedures.

Sec. 403. Extending antifraud safeguards to the Federal employee health benefits program.

Sec. 404. Grand jury disclosure.

Sec. 405. Increasing the effectiveness of civil investigative demands in false

claims investigations.

TITLE V—PROTECTING RESIDENTS OF NURSING HOMES

Sec. 501. Short title.

Sec. 502. Nursing home resident protection.

TITLE VI—PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF ELDERLY CRIME

VICTIMS

Sec. 601. Use of forfeited funds to pay restitution to crime victims and regulatory agencies.

Sec. 602. Victim restitution.

Sec. 603. Bankruptcy proceedings not used to shield illegal gains from false

claims.

Sec. 604. Forfeiture for retirement offenses.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings:
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1 (1) The number of older Americans is growing

2 both numerically and proportionally in the United

3 States. Since 1990, the population of seniors has in4 creased by almost 5,000,000, and is now 20.2 per5 cent of the United States population.

6 (2) In 1997, 7 percent of victims of serious vio7 lent crime were age 50 or older.

8 (3) In 1997, 17.7 percent of murder victims

9 were age 55 or older.

10 (4) According to the National Crime Victimiza11 tion Survey, persons aged 50 and older experienced

12 approximately 673,460 incidents of violent crime, in13 cluding rape and sexual assaults, robberies and gen14 eral assaults, during 1997.

15 (5) Older victims of violent crime are almost

16 twice as likely as younger victims to be raped,

17 robbed, or assaulted at or in their own homes.

18 (6) Approximately half of Americans who are

19 50 years old or older feel afraid to walk alone at

20 night in their own neighborhoods.

21 (7) Seniors over the age of 50 reportedly ac22 count for 37 percent of the estimated

23 $40,000,000,000 in losses each year due to tele24 marketing fraud.
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1 (8) In 1998, Congress enacted legislation to

2 provide for increased penalties for telemarketing

3 fraud that targets seniors.

4 (9) There has not been a comprehensive study

5 of crimes committed against seniors since 1994.

6 (10) It has been estimated that approximately

7 43 percent of those turning 65 can expect to spend

8 some time in a long-term care facility, and approxi9 mately 20 percent can expect to spend 5 years or

10 longer in a such a facility.

11 (11) In 1997, approximately $82,800,000,000

12 was spent on nursing home care in the United

13 States and over half of this amount was spent by the

14 medicaid and medicare programs.

15 (12) Losses to fraud and abuse in health care

16 reportedly cost the United States an estimated

17 $100,000,000,000 in 1996.

18 (13) The Inspector General for the Department

19 of Health and Human Services has estimated that

20 about $12,600,000,000 in improper medicare benefit

21 payments, due to inadvertent mistake, fraud and

22 abuse, were made during fiscal year 1998.

23 (14) Incidents of health care fraud and abuse

24 remain high despite awareness of the problem.

25 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—
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1 (1) combat nursing home fraud and abuse;

2 (2) enhance safeguards for pension plans and

3 health care programs;

4 (3) develop strategies for preventing and pun5 ishing crimes that target or otherwise disproportion6 ately affect seniors by collecting appropriate data to

7 measure the extent of crimes committed against sen8 iors and determine the extent of domestic and elder

9 abuse of seniors; and

10 (4) prevent and deter criminal activity, such as

11 telemarketing fraud, that results in economic and

12 physical harm against seniors and ensure appro13 priate restitution.

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

15 In this Act—

16 (1) the term ‘‘crime’’ means any criminal of17 fense under Federal or State law;

18 (2) the term ‘‘nursing home’’ means any insti19 tution or residential care facility defined as such for

20 licensing purposes under State law, or if State law

21 does not employ the term nursing home, the equiva22 lent term or terms as determined by the Secretary

23 of Health and Human Services, pursuant to section

24 1908(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

25 1396g(e)); and
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1 (3) the term ‘‘senior’’ means an individual who

2 is more than 55 years of age.

3 TITLE I—STRATEGIES FOR PRE4 VENTING CRIMES AGAINST

5 SENIORS

6 SEC. 101. STUDY OF CRIMES AGAINST SENIORS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall con8 duct a study relating to crimes against seniors, in order

9 to assist in developing new strategies to prevent and other10 wise reduce the incidence of those crimes.

11 (b) ISSUES ADDRESSED.—The study conducted

12 under this section shall include an analysis of—

13 (1) the nature and type of crimes perpetrated

14 against seniors, with special focus on—

15 (A) the most common types of crimes that

16 affect seniors;

17 (B) the nature and extent of telemarketing

18 fraud against seniors;

19 (C) the nature and extent of elder abuse

20 inflicted upon seniors;

21 (D) the nature and extent of financial and

22 material fraud targeted at seniors; and

23 (E) the nature and extent of health care

24 fraud and abuse targeting seniors;
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1 (2) the risk factors associated with seniors who

2 have been victimized;

3 (3) the manner in which the Federal and State

4 criminal justice systems respond to crimes against

5 seniors;

6 (4) the feasibility of States establishing and

7 maintaining a centralized computer database on the

8 incidence of crimes against seniors that will promote

9 the uniform identification and reporting of such

10 crimes;

11 (5) the nature and extent of crimes targeting

12 seniors, such as health care fraud and telemarketing

13 fraud originating from sources outside the United

14 States;

15 (6) the effectiveness of State programs funded

16 under the 1987 State Elder Abuse Prevention Pro17 gram in preventing and reducing the abuse and ne18 glect of seniors; and

19 (7) other effective ways to prevent or reduce the

20 occurrence of crimes against seniors.

21 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall

23 submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House

24 of Representatives and the Senate a report describing the
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1 results of the study under this section, which shall also

2 include—

3 (1) an assessment of any impact of the sen4 tencing enhancements promulgated by the United

5 States Sentencing Commission pursuant to section

6 6(b) of the Telemarketing Fraud Prevention Act of

7 1998 (28 U.S.C. 994 note), including—

8 (A) the number of crimes for which sen9 tences were enhanced under that section; and

10 (B) the effect of those enhanced sentences

11 in deterring telemarketing fraud crimes tar12 geting seniors;

13 (2) an assessment of the factors that result in

14 the inclusion of seniors on the lists of names, ad15 dresses, phone numbers, or Internet addresses com16 piled by telemarketers or sold to telemarketers as

17 lists of potentially vulnerable consumers (i.e. ‘‘mooch

18 lists’’); and

19 (3) an assessment of the nature and extent of

20 nursing home fraud and abuse, which shall

21 include—

22 (A) the number of cases and financial im23 pact on seniors of fraud and abuse involving

24 nursing homes each year;
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1 (B) procedures used effectively by State,

2 local and Federal authorities to combat nursing

3 home fraud and abuse; and

4 (C) a description of strategies available to

5 consumers to protect themselves from nursing

6 home fraud and an evaluation of the effective7 ness of such strategies.

8 SEC. 102. INCLUSION OF SENIORS IN NATIONAL CRIME VIC9 TIMIZATION SURVEY.

10 Beginning not later than 2 years after the date of

11 enactment of this Act, as part of each National Crime Vic12 timization Survey, the Attorney General shall include sta13 tistics relating to—

14 (1) crimes targeting or disproportionately af15 fecting seniors; and

16 (2) crime risk factors for seniors, including the

17 times and locations at which crimes victimizing sen18 iors are most likely to occur; and

19 (3) specific characteristics of the victims of

20 crimes who are seniors, including age, gender, race

21 or ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
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1 TITLE II—COMBATING CRIMES

2 AGAINST SENIORS

3 SEC. 201. ENHANCED SENTENCING PENALTIES BASED ON

4 AGE OF VICTIM.

5 (a) DIRECTIVE TO THE UNITED STATES SEN6 TENCING COMMISSION.—Pursuant to its authority under

7 section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, and in ac8 cordance with this section, the United States Sentencing

9 Commission shall review and, if appropriate, amend sec10 tion 3A1.1(a) of the Federal sentencing guidelines to in11 clude the age of a crime victim as 1 of the criteria for

12 determining whether the application of a sentencing en13 hancement is appropriate.

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this section,

15 the Commission shall—

16 (1) ensure that the Federal sentencing guide17 lines and the policy statements of the Commission

18 reflect the serious economic and physical harms as19 sociated with criminal activity targeted at seniors

20 due to their particular vulnerability;

21 (2) consider providing increased penalties for

22 persons convicted of offenses in which the victim was

23 a senior in appropriate circumstances;

24 (3) consult with individuals or groups rep25 resenting seniors, law enforcement agencies, victims
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1 organizations, and the Federal judiciary, as part of

2 the review described in subsection (a);

3 (4) ensure reasonable consistency with other

4 Federal sentencing guidelines and directives;

5 (5) account for any aggravating or mitigating

6 circumstances that may justify exceptions, including

7 circumstances for which the Federal sentencing

8 guidelines provide sentencing enhancements;

9 (6) make any necessary conforming changes to

10 the Federal sentencing guidelines; and

11 (7) ensure that the Federal sentencing guide12 lines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing set

13 forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States

14 Code.

15 (c) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2000, the

16 Commission shall submit to Congress a report on issues

17 relating to the age of crime victims, which shall include—

18 (1) an explanation of any changes to sentencing

19 policy made by the Commission under this section;

20 and

21 (2) any recommendations of the Commission for

22 retention or modification of penalty levels, including

23 statutory penalty levels, for offenses involving sen24 iors.
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1 SEC. 202. STUDY AND REPORT ON HEALTH CARE FRAUD

2 SENTENCES.

3 (a) DIRECTIVE TO THE UNITED STATES SEN4 TENCING COMMISSION.—Pursuant to its authority under

5 section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, and in ac6 cordance with this section, the United States Sentencing

7 Commission shall review and, if appropriate, amend the

8 Federal sentencing guidelines and the policy statements

9 of the Commission with respect to persons convicted of

10 offenses involving fraud in connection with a health care

11 benefit program (as defined in section 24(b) of title 18,

12 United States Code).

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this section,

14 the Commission shall—

15 (1) ensure that the Federal sentencing guide16 lines and the policy statements of the Commission

17 reflect the serious harms associated with health care

18 fraud and the need for aggressive and appropriate

19 law enforcement action to prevent such fraud;

20 (2) consider providing increased penalties for

21 persons convicted of health care fraud in appropriate

22 circumstances;

23 (3) consult with individuals or groups rep24 resenting victims of health care fraud, law enforce25 ment agencies, the health care industry, and the
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1 Federal judiciary as part of the review described in

2 subsection (a);

3 (4) ensure reasonable consistency with other

4 Federal sentencing guidelines and directives;

5 (5) account for any aggravating or mitigating

6 circumstances that might justify exceptions, includ7 ing circumstances for which the Federal sentencing

8 guidelines provide sentencing enhancements;

9 (6) make any necessary conforming changes to

10 the Federal sentencing guidelines; and

11 (7) ensure that the Federal sentencing guide12 lines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing as

13 set forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United

14 States Code.

15 (c) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2000, the

16 Commission shall submit to Congress a report on issues

17 relating to offenses described in subsection (a), which shall

18 include—

19 (1) an explanation of any changes to sentencing

20 policy made by the Commission under this section;

21 and

22 (2) any recommendations of the Commission for

23 retention or modification of penalty levels, including

24 statutory penalty levels, for those offenses.
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1 SEC. 203. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR FRAUD RESULTING

2 IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.

3 Sections 1341 and 1343 of title 18, United States

4 Code, are each amended by inserting before the last sen5 tence the following: ‘‘If the violation results in serious bod6 ily injury (as defined in section 1365 of this title), such

7 person shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more

8 than 20 years, or both, and if the violation results in

9 death, such person shall be fined under this title, impris10 oned for any term of years or life, or both.’’.

11 SEC. 204. SAFEGUARDING PENSION PLANS FROM FRAUD

12 AND THEFT.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 63 of title 18, United

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘§ 1348. Fraud in relation to retirement arrange17 ments

18 ‘‘(a) RETIREMENT ARRANGEMENT DEFINED.—In

19 this section—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘retirement ar21 rangement’ means—

22 ‘‘(A) any employee pension benefit plan

23 subject to any provision of title I of the Em24 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974;
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1 ‘‘(B) any qualified retirement plan within

2 the meaning of section 4974(c) of the Internal

3 Revenue Code of 1986;

4 ‘‘(C) any medical savings account de5 scribed in section 220 of the Internal Revenue

6 Code of 1986; or

7 ‘‘(D) fund established within the Thrift

8 Savings Fund by the Federal Retirement Thrift

9 Investment Board pursuant to subchapter III of

10 chapter 84 of title 5.

11 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR GOVERNMENTAL PLAN.—

12 Such term does not include any governmental plan

13 (as defined in section 3(32) of title I of the Em14 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29

15 U.S.C. 1002(32))), except as provided in paragraph

16 (1)(D).

17 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN ARRANGEMENTS INCLUDED.—

18 Such term shall include any arrangement that has

19 been represented to be an arrangement described in

20 any subparagraph of paragraph (1) (whether or not

21 so described).

22 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION AND PENALTIES.—Whoever exe23 cutes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice—
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1 ‘‘(1) to defraud any retirement arrangement or

2 other person in connection with the establishment or

3 maintenance of a retirement arrangement; or

4 ‘‘(2) to obtain, by means of false or fraudulent

5 pretenses, representations, or promises, any of the

6 money or property owned by, or under the custody

7 or control of, any retirement arrangement or other

8 person in connection with the establishment or main9 tenance of a retirement arrangement;

10 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than

11 10 years, or both.

12 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

14 the Attorney General may investigate any violation

15 of and otherwise enforce this section.

16 ‘‘(2) EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITY.—Nothing

17 in this subsection may be construed to preclude the

18 Secretary of Labor or the head of any other appro19 priate Federal agency from investigating a violation

20 of this section in relation to a retirement arrange21 ment subject to title I of the Employee Retirement

22 Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 et

23 seq.) or any other provision of Federal law.’’.
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1 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 24(a)(1) of

2 title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting

3 ‘‘1348,’’ after ‘‘1347,’’.

4 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

5 chapter 63 of title 18, United States Code, is amended

6 by adding at the end the following:

‘‘1348. Fraud in relation to retirement arrangements.’’.

7 SEC. 205. ADDITIONAL CIVIL PENALTIES FOR DEFRAUDING

8 PENSION PLANS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—

10 (1) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Except

11 as provided in subsection (b)—

12 (A) the Attorney General may bring a civil

13 action in the appropriate district court of the

14 United States against any person who engages

15 in conduct constituting an offense under section

16 1348 of title 18, United States Code, or con17 spiracy to violate such section 1348; and

18 (B) upon proof of such conduct by a pre19 ponderance of the evidence, such person shall

20 be subject to a civil penalty in an amount equal

21 to the greatest of—

22 (i) the amount of pecuniary gain to

23 that person;

24 (ii) the amount of pecuniary loss sus25 tained by the victim; or
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1 (iii) not more than—

2 (I) $50,000 for each such viola3 tion in the case of an individual; or

4 (II) $100,000 for each violation

5 in the case of a person other than an

6 individual.

7 (2) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REMEDIES.—The

8 imposition of a civil penalty under this subsection

9 does not preclude any other statutory, common law,

10 or administrative remedy available by law to the

11 United States or any other person.

12 (b) EXCEPTION.—No civil penalty may be imposed

13 pursuant to subsection (a) with respect to conduct involv14 ing a retirement arrangement that—

15 (1) is an employee pension benefit plan subject

16 to title I of Employee Retirement Income Security

17 Act of 1974; and

18 (2) for which the civil penalties may be imposed

19 under section 502 of Employee Retirement Income

20 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132).

21 (c) DETERMINATION OF PENALTY AMOUNT.—In de22 termining the amount of the penalty under subsection (a),

23 the district court may consider the effect of the penalty

24 on the violator or other person’s ability to—

25 (1) restore all losses to the victims; or
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1 (2) provide other relief ordered in another civil

2 or criminal prosecution related to such conduct, in3 cluding any penalty or tax imposed on the violator

4 or other person pursuant to the Internal Revenue

5 Code of 1986.’’.

6 SEC. 206. PUNISHING BRIBERY AND GRAFT IN CONNEC7 TION WITH EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS.

8 Section 1954 of title 18, United State Code, is

9 amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘§ 1954. Bribery and graft in connection with em11 ployee benefit plans

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘employee benefit plan’ means

14 any employee welfare benefit plan or employee pen15 sion benefit plan subject to any provision of title I

16 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

17 1974;

18 ‘‘(2) the terms ‘employee organization’, ‘admin19 istrator’, and ‘employee benefit plan sponsor’ mean

20 any employee organization, administrator, or plan

21 sponsor, as defined in title I of the Employment Re22 tirement Income Security Act of 1974; and

23 ‘‘(3) the term ‘applicable person’ means a per24 son who is—
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1 ‘‘(A) an administrator, officer, trustee,

2 custodian, counsel, agent, or employee of any

3 employee benefit plan;

4 ‘‘(B) an officer, counsel, agent, or em5 ployee of an employer or an employer any of

6 whose employees are covered by such plan;

7 ‘‘(C) an officer, counsel, agent, or em8 ployee of an employee organization any of

9 whose members are covered by such plan;

10 ‘‘(D) a person who, or an officer, counsel,

11 agent, or employee of an organization that, pro12 vides benefit plan services to such plan; or

13 ‘‘(E) a person with actual or apparent in14 fluence or decisionmaking authority in regard

15 to such plan.

16 ‘‘(b) BRIBERY AND GRAFT.—Whoever—

17 ‘‘(1) being an applicable person, receives or

18 agrees to receive or solicits, any fee, kickback, com19 mission, gift, loan, money, or thing of value, person20 ally or for any other person, because of or with the

21 intent to be corruptly influenced with respect to any

22 action, decision, or duty of that applicable person re23 lating to any question or matter concerning an em24 ployee benefit plan;
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1 ‘‘(2) directly or indirectly, gives or offers, or

2 promises to give or offer, any fee, kickback, commis3 sion, gift, loan, money, or thing of value, to any ap4 plicable person, because of or with the intent to be

5 corruptly influenced with respect to any action, deci6 sion, or duty of that applicable person relating to

7 any question or matter concerning an employee ben8 efit plan; or

9 ‘‘(3) attempts to give, accept, or receive any

10 thing of value with the intent to be corruptly influ11 enced in violation of this subsection;

12 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than

13 5 years, or both.

14 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section may be

15 construed to apply to any—

16 ‘‘(1) payment to or acceptance by any person of

17 bona fide salary, compensation, or other payments

18 made for goods or facilities actually furnished or for

19 services actually performed in the regular course of

20 his duties as an applicable person; or

21 ‘‘(2) payment to or acceptance in good faith by

22 any employee benefit plan sponsor, or person acting

23 on the sponsor’s behalf, of any thing of value relat24 ing to the sponsor’s decision or action to establish,

25 terminate, or modify the governing instruments of
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1 an employee benefit plan in a manner that does not

2 violate title I of the Employee Retirement Income

3 Security Act of 1974, or any regulation or order

4 promulgated thereunder, or any other provision of

5 law governing the plan.’’.

6 TITLE III—PREVENTING

7 TELEMARKETING FRAUD

8 SEC. 301. CENTRALIZED COMPLAINT AND CONSUMER EDU9 CATION SERVICE FOR VICTIMS OF TELE10 MARKETING FRAUD.

11 (a) CENTRALIZED SERVICE.—

12 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The Federal Trade Com13 mission shall, after consultation with the Attorney

14 General, establish procedures to—

15 (A) log and acknowledge the receipt of

16 complaints by individuals who certify that they

17 have a reasonable belief that they have been the

18 victim of fraud in connection with the conduct

19 of telemarketing (as that term is defined in sec20 tion 2325 of title 18, United States Code, as

21 amended by section 302(a) of this Act);

22 (B) provide to individuals described in sub23 paragraph (A), and to any other persons, infor24 mation on telemarketing fraud, including—
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1 (i) general information on tele2 marketing fraud, including descriptions of

3 the most common telemarketing fraud

4 schemes;

5 (ii) information on means of referring

6 complaints on telemarketing fraud to ap7 propriate law enforcement agencies, includ8 ing the Director of the Federal Bureau of

9 Investigation, the attorneys general of the

10 States, and the national toll-free telephone

11 number on telemarketing fraud established

12 by the Attorney General; and

13 (iii) information, if available, on the

14 number of complaints of telemarketing

15 fraud against particular companies and

16 any record of convictions for telemarketing

17 fraud by particular companies for which a

18 specific request has been made; and

19 (C) refer complaints described in subpara20 graph (A) to appropriate entities, including

21 State consumer protection agencies or entities

22 and appropriate law enforcement agencies, for

23 potential law enforcement action.

24 (2) CENTRAL LOCATION.—The service under

25 the procedures under paragraph (1) shall be pro-
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1 vided at and through a single site selected by the

2 Commission for that purpose.

3 (3) COMMENCEMENT.—The Commission shall

4 commence carrying out the service not later than 1

5 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

6 (b) CREATION OF FRAUD CONVICTION DATABASE.—

7 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The Attorney General

8 shall establish and maintain a computer database

9 containing information on the corporations and com10 panies convicted of offenses for telemarketing fraud

11 under Federal and State law. The database shall in12 clude a description of the type and method of the

13 fraud scheme for which each corporation or company

14 covered by the database was convicted.

15 (2) USE OF DATABASE.—The Attorney General

16 shall make information in the database available to

17 the Federal Trade Commission for purposes of pro18 viding information as part of the service under sub19 section (a).

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

21 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec22 essary to carry out this section.

23 SEC. 302. BLOCKING OF TELEMARKETING SCAMS.

24 (a) EXPANSION OF SCOPE OF TELEMARKETING

25 FRAUD SUBJECT TO ENHANCED CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—
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1 Section 2325(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amend2 ed by striking ‘‘telephone calls’’ and inserting ‘‘wire com3 munications utilizing a telephone service’’.

4 (b) BLOCKING OR TERMINATION OF TELEPHONE

5 SERVICE ASSOCIATED WITH TELEMARKETING FRAUD.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 113A of title 18,

7 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

8 end the following:

9 ‘‘§ 2328. Blocking or termination of telephone service

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a common carrier subject to

11 the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commis12 sion is notified in writing by the Attorney General, acting

13 within the Attorney General’s jurisdiction, that any wire

14 communications facility furnished by such common carrier

15 is being used or will be used by a subscriber for the pur16 pose of transmitting or receiving a wire communication

17 in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of exe18 cuting any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining

19 money or property by means of false or fraudulent pre20 tenses, representations, or promises, in connection with

21 the conduct of telemarketing, the common carrier shall

22 discontinue or refuse the leasing, furnishing, or maintain23 ing of the facility to or for the subscriber after reasonable

24 notice to the subscriber.
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1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON DAMAGES.—No damages, pen2 alty, or forfeiture, whether civil or criminal, shall be found

3 or imposed against any common carrier for any act done

4 by the common carrier in compliance with a notice re5 ceived from the Attorney General under this section.

6 ‘‘(c) RELIEF.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section

8 may be construed to prejudice the right of any per9 son affected thereby to secure an appropriate deter10 mination, as otherwise provided by law, in a Federal

11 court, that—

12 ‘‘(A) the leasing, furnishing, or maintain13 ing of a facility should not be discontinued or

14 refused under this section; or

15 ‘‘(B) the leasing, furnishing, or maintain16 ing of a facility that has been so discontinued

17 or refused should be restored.

18 ‘‘(2) SUPPORTING INFORMATION.—In any ac19 tion brought under this subsection, the court may

20 direct that the Attorney General present evidence in

21 support of the notice made under subsection (a) to

22 which such action relates.

23 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

24 ‘‘(1) REASONABLE NOTICE TO THE SUB25 SCRIBER.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘reasonable

2 notice to the subscriber’, in the case of a sub3 scriber of a common carrier, means any infor4 mation necessary to provide notice to the sub5 scriber that—

6 ‘‘(i) the wire communications facilities

7 furnished by the common carrier may not

8 be used for the purpose of transmitting,

9 receiving, forwarding, or delivering a wire

10 communication in interstate or foreign

11 commerce for the purpose of executing any

12 scheme or artifice to defraud in connection

13 with the conduct of telemarketing; and

14 ‘‘(ii) such use constitutes sufficient

15 grounds for the immediate discontinuance

16 or refusal of the leasing, furnishing, or

17 maintaining of the facilities to or for the

18 subscriber.

19 ‘‘(B) INCLUDED MATTER.—The term in20 cludes any tariff filed by the common carrier

21 with the Federal Communications Commission

22 that contains the information specified in sub23 paragraph (A).
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1 ‘‘(2) WIRE COMMUNICATION.—The term ‘wire

2 communication’ has the meaning given that term in

3 section 2510(1) of this title.

4 ‘‘(3) WIRE COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY.—The

5 term ‘wire communications facility’ means any facil6 ity (including instrumentalities, personnel, and serv7 ices) used by a common carrier for purposes of the

8 transmission, receipt, forwarding, or delivery of wire

9 communications.’’.

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis

11 for that chapter is amended by adding at the end

12 the following:

‘‘2328. Blocking or termination of telephone service.’’.

13 TITLE IV—PREVENTING HEALTH

14 CARE FRAUD

15 SEC. 401. INJUNCTIVE AUTHORITY RELATING TO FALSE

16 CLAIMS AND ILLEGAL KICKBACK SCHEMES

17 INVOLVING FEDERAL HEALTH CARE PRO18 GRAMS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1345(a) of title 18,

20 United States Code, is amended—

21 (1) in paragraph (1)—

22 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking

23 ‘‘, or’’ and inserting a semicolon;

24 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the

25 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
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1 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C)

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(D) committing or about to commit an offense

4 under section 1128B of the Social Security Act (42

5 U.S.C. 1320a–7b);’’; and

6 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘a violation

7 of paragraph (1)(D) or’’ before ‘‘a banking’’.

8 (b) CIVIL ACTIONS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1128B of the Social

10 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b) is amended by

11 adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(g) CIVIL ACTIONS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may

14 bring an action in the appropriate district court of

15 the United States to impose upon any person who

16 carries out any activity in violation of this section

17 with respect to a Federal health care program a civil

18 penalty of not more than $50,000 for each such vio19 lation, or damages of 3 times the total remuneration

20 offered, paid, solicited, or received, whichever is

21 greater.

22 ‘‘(2) EXISTENCE OF VIOLATION.—A violation

23 exists under paragraph (1) if 1 or more purposes of

24 the remuneration is unlawful, and the damages shall

25 be the full amount of such remuneration.
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1 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURES.—An action under para2 graph (1) shall be governed by—

3 ‘‘(A) the procedures with regard to sub4 poenas, statutes of limitations, standards of

5 proof, and collateral estoppel set forth in sec6 tion 3731 of title 31, United States Code; and

7 ‘‘(B) the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

8 ‘‘(4) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REMEDIES.—Noth9 ing in this section may be construed to affect the

10 availability of any other criminal or civil remedy.

11 ‘‘(h) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The Attorney General

12 may commence a civil action in an appropriate district

13 court of the United States to enjoin a violation of this

14 section, as provided in section 1345 of title 18, United

15 States Code.’’.

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading

17 of section 1128B of the Social Security Act (42

18 U.S.C. 1320a–7b) is amended by inserting ‘‘AND

19 CIVIL’’ after ‘‘CRIMINAL’’.

20 SEC. 402. AUTHORIZED INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND PROCE21 DURES.

22 Section 3486 of title 18, United States Code, is

23 amended—

24 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, or any al25 legation of fraud or false claims (whether criminal or
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1 civil) in connection with a Federal health care pro2 gram (as defined in section 1128B(f) of the Social

3 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b(f))),’’ after ‘‘Fed4 eral health care offense,’’; and

5 (2) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(f) PRIVACY PROTECTION.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), any record (including any book, paper,

9 document, electronic medium, or other object or tan10 gible thing) produced pursuant to a subpoena issued

11 under this section that contains personally identifi12 able health information may not be disclosed to any

13 person, except pursuant to a court order under sub14 section (e)(1).

15 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—A record described in para16 graph (1) may be disclosed—

17 ‘‘(A) to an attorney for the government for

18 use in the performance of the official duty of

19 the attorney (including presentation to a Fed20 eral grand jury);

21 ‘‘(B) to such government personnel (in22 cluding personnel of a State or subdivision of a

23 State) as are determined to be necessary by an

24 attorney for the government to assist an attor25 ney for the government in the performance of
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1 the official duty of that attorney to enforce

2 Federal criminal law;

3 ‘‘(C) as directed by a court preliminarily to

4 or in connection with a judicial proceeding; and

5 ‘‘(D) as permitted by a court—

6 ‘‘(i) at the request of a defendant in

7 an administrative, civil, or criminal action

8 brought by the United States, upon a

9 showing that grounds may exist for a mo10 tion to exclude evidence obtained under

11 this section; or

12 ‘‘(E) at the request of an attorney for the

13 government, upon a showing that such matters

14 may disclose a violation of State criminal law,

15 to an appropriate official of a State or subdivi16 sion of a State for the purpose of enforcing

17 such law.

18 ‘‘(3) MANNER OF COURT ORDERED DISCLO19 SURES.—If a court orders the disclosure of any

20 record described in paragraph (1), the disclosure

21 shall be made in such manner, at such time, and

22 under such conditions as the court may direct and

23 shall be undertaken in a manner that preserves the

24 confidentiality and privacy of individuals who are the

25 subject of the record, unless disclosure is required by
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1 the nature of the proceedings, in which event the at2 torney for the government shall request that the pre3 siding judicial or administrative officer enter an

4 order limiting the disclosure of the record to the

5 maximum extent practicable, including redacting the

6 personally identifiable health information from pub7 licly disclosed or filed pleadings or records.

8 ‘‘(4) DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS.—Any record

9 described in paragraph (1), and all copies of that

10 record, in whatever form (including electronic) shall

11 be destroyed not later than 90 days after the date

12 on which the record is produced, unless otherwise or13 dered by a court of competent jurisdiction, upon a

14 showing of good cause.

15 ‘‘(5) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—Any person who

16 knowingly fails to comply with this subsection may

17 be punished as in contempt of court.

18 ‘‘(g) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE HEALTH INFORMA19 TION DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘personally

20 identifiable health information’ means any information, in21 cluding genetic information, demographic information,

22 and tissue samples collected from an individual, whether

23 oral or recorded in any form or medium, that—

24 ‘‘(1) relates to the past, present, or future phys25 ical or mental health or condition of an individual,
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1 the provision of health care to an individual, or the

2 past, present, or future payment for the provision

3 of health care to an individual; and

4 ‘‘(2) either—

5 ‘‘(A) identifies an individual; or

6 ‘‘(B) with respect to which there is a rea7 sonable basis to believe that the information

8 can be used to identify an individual.’’.

9 SEC. 403. EXTENDING ANTIFRAUD SAFEGUARDS TO THE

10 FEDERAL EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFITS

11 PROGRAM.

12 Section 1128B(f)(1) of the Social Security Act (42

13 U.S.C. 1320a–7b(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(other

14 than the health insurance program under chapter 89 of

15 title 5, United States Code)’’.

16 SEC. 404. GRAND JURY DISCLOSURE.

17 Section 3322 of title 18, United States Code, is

18 amended—

19 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as

20 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol22 lowing:

23 ‘‘(c) GRAND JURY DISCLOSURE.—Subject to section

24 3486(f), upon ex parte motion of an attorney for the gov25 ernment showing that such disclosure would be of assist-
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1 ance to enforce any provision of Federal law, a court may

2 direct the disclosure of any matter occurring before a

3 grand jury during an investigation of a Federal health

4 care offense (as defined in section 24(a) of this title) to

5 an attorney for the government to use in any investigation

6 or civil proceeding relating to fraud or false claims in con7 nection with a Federal health care program (as defined

8 in section 1128B(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

9 1320a–7b(f))).’’.

10 SEC. 405. INCREASING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CIVIL IN11 VESTIGATIVE DEMANDS IN FALSE CLAIMS IN12 VESTIGATIONS.

13 Section 3733 of title 31, United States Code, is

14 amended—

15 (1) in subsection (a)(1), in the second sentence,

16 by inserting ‘‘, except to the Deputy Attorney Gen17 eral or to an Assistant Attorney General’’ before the

18 period at the end; and

19 (2) in subsection (i)(2)(C), by adding at the end

20 the following: ‘‘Disclosure of information to a person

21 who brings a civil action under section 3730, or such

22 person’s counsel, shall be allowed only upon applica23 tion to a United States district court showing that

24 such disclosure would assist the Department of Jus25 tice in carrying out its statutory responsibilities.’’.
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1 TITLE V—PROTECTING

2 RESIDENTS OF NURSING HOMES

3 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Nursing Home Resi5 dent Protection Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 502. NURSING HOME RESIDENT PROTECTION.

7 (a) PROTECTION OF RESIDENTS IN NURSING HOMES

8 AND OTHER RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.—

9 Chapter 63 of title 18, United States Code, is amended

10 by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘§ 1349. Pattern of violations resulting in harm to

12 residents of nursing homes and related

13 facilities

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

15 ‘‘(1) ENTITY.—The term ‘entity’ means any

16 residential health care facility (including facilities

17 that do not exclusively provide residential health

18 care services), any entity that manages a residential

19 health care facility, or any entity that owns, directly

20 or indirectly, a controlling interest or a 50 percent

21 or greater interest in 1 or more residential health

22 care facilities including States, localities, and polit23 ical subdivisions thereof.

24 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM.—The

25 term ‘Federal health care program’ has the meaning
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1 given that term in section 1128B(f) of the Social Se2 curity Act.

3 ‘‘(3) PATTERN OF VIOLATIONS.—The term

4 ‘pattern of violations’ means multiple violations of a

5 single Federal or State law, regulation, or rule or

6 single violations of multiple Federal or State laws,

7 regulations, or rules, that are widespread, systemic,

8 repeated, similar in nature, or result from a policy

9 or practice.

10 ‘‘(4) RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE FACILITY.—

11 The term ‘residential health care facility’ means any

12 facility (including any facility that does not exclu13 sively provide residential health care services) includ14 ing skilled and unskilled nursing facilities and men15 tal health and mental retardation facilities, that—

16 ‘‘(A) receives Federal funds, directly from

17 the Federal Government or indirectly from a

18 third party on contract with or receiving a

19 grant or other monies from the Federal govern20 ment, to provide health care; or

21 ‘‘(B) provides health care services in a res22 idential setting and, in any calendar year in

23 which a violation occurs, is the recipient of ben24 efits or payments in excess of $10,000 from a

25 Federal health care program.
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1 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of

2 the several States of the United States, the District

3 of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or

4 possession of the United States.

5 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION AND PENALTIES.—Whoever

6 knowingly and willfully engages in a pattern of violations

7 that affects the health, safety, or care of individuals resid8 ing in a residential health care facility or facilities, and

9 that results in significant physical or mental harm to 1

10 or more of such residents, shall be punished as provided

11 in section 1347, except that any organization shall be

12 fined not more than $2,000,000 per residential health care

13 facility.

14 ‘‘(c) CIVIL PROVISIONS.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may

16 bring an action in a district court of the United

17 States to impose on any individual or entity that en18 gages in a pattern of violations that affects the

19 health, safety, or care of individuals residing in a

20 residential health care facility, and that results in

21 physical or mental harm to 1 or more such resi22 dents, a civil penalty or—

23 ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual (other

24 than an owner, operator, officer or manager of
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1 such a residential health care facility), not more

2 than $10,000;

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who is an

4 owner, operator, officer, or manager of such a

5 residential health care facility, not more than

6 $100,000 for each separate facility involved in

7 the pattern of violations under this section; or

8 ‘‘(C) in the case of a residential health

9 care facility, not more than $1,000,000 for each

10 pattern of violations, and in the case of an enti11 ty, not more than $1,000,000 for each separate

12 residential health care facility involved in the

13 pattern of violations owned or managed by that

14 entity.

15 ‘‘(2) OTHER APPROPRIATE RELIEF.—If the At16 torney General has reason to believe that an indi17 vidual or entity is engaging in or is about to engage

18 in a pattern of violations that would affect the

19 health, safety, or care of individuals residing in a

20 residential health care facility, and that results in or

21 has the potential to result in physical or mental

22 harm to 1 or more such residents, the Attorney Gen23 eral may petition an appropriate district court of the

24 United States for appropriate equitable and declara25 tory relief to eliminate the pattern of violations.
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1 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURES.—In any action under this

2 subsection—

3 ‘‘(A) a subpoena requiring the attendance

4 of a witness at a trial or hearing may be served

5 at any place in the United States;

6 ‘‘(B) the action may not be brought more

7 than 6 years after the date on which the viola8 tion occurs;

9 ‘‘(C) the United States shall be required to

10 prove each charge by a preponderance of the

11 evidence;

12 ‘‘(D) the civil investigative demand proce13 dures set forth in the Antitrust Civil Process

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.) and regulations

15 promulgated pursuant thereto shall apply to

16 any investigation; and

17 ‘‘(E) the filing or resolution of a matter

18 shall not preclude any other remedy that is

19 available to the United States or any other per20 son.

21 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION.—Any

22 person who is the subject of retaliation, either directly or

23 indirectly, for reporting a condition that may constitute

24 grounds for relief under this section may bring an action
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1 in an appropriate district court of the United States for

2 damages, attorneys’ fees, and other relief.’’.

3 (b) AUTHORIZED INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND PROCE4 DURES.—Section 3486(a)(1) of title 18, United States

5 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or act or activity involving

6 section 1349 of this title’’ after ‘‘Federal health care of7 fense’’.

8 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

9 chapter 63 of title 18 United States Code, is amended by

10 adding at the end the following:

‘‘1349. Pattern of violations resulting in harm to residents of nursing homes and

related facilities.’’.

11 TITLE VI—PROTECTING THE

12 RIGHTS OF ELDERLY CRIME

13 VICTIMS

14 SEC. 601. USE OF FORFEITED FUNDS TO PAY RESTITUTION

15 TO CRIME VICTIMS AND REGULATORY AGEN16 CIES.

17 Section 981(e) of this title 18, United States Code,

18 is amended—

19 (1) in each of paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), by

20 striking ‘‘in the case of property referred to in sub21 section (a)(1)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘in the case of

22 property forfeited in connection with an offense re23 sulting in a pecuniary loss to a financial institution

24 or regulatory agency’’;
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1 (2) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(6) as restoration to any victim of the offense

4 giving rise to the forfeiture, including, in the case of

5 a money laundering offense, any offense constituting

6 the underlying specified unlawful activity; or’’; and

7 (3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘in the case

8 of property referred to in subsection (a)(1)(D)’’ and

9 inserting ‘‘in the case of property forfeited in con10 nection with an offense relating to the sale of assets

11 acquired or held by any Federal financial institution

12 or regulatory agency, or person appointed by such

13 agency, as receiver, conservator, or liquidating agent

14 for an financial institution’’.

15 SEC. 602. VICTIM RESTITUTION.

16 Section 413 of the Controlled Substances Act (21

17 U.S.C. 853) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(r) VICTIM RESTITUTION.—

20 ‘‘(1) SATISFACTION OF ORDER OF RESTITU21 TION.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

23 subparagraph (B), a defendant may not use

24 property subject to forfeiture under this section

25 to satisfy an order of restitution.
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1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If there are 1 or more

2 identifiable victims entitled to restitution from a

3 defendant, and the defendant has no assets

4 other than the property subject to forfeiture

5 with which to pay restitution to the victim or

6 victims, the attorney for the Government may

7 move to dismiss a forfeiture allegation against

8 the defendant before entry of a judgment of

9 forfeiture in order to allow the property to be

10 used by the defendant to pay restitution in

11 whatever manner the court determines to be ap12 propriate if the court grants the motion. In

13 granting a motion under this subparagraph, the

14 court shall include a provision ensuring that

15 costs associated with the identification, seizure,

16 management, and disposition of the property

17 are recovered by the United States.

18 ‘‘(2) RESTORATION OF FORFEITED PROP19 ERTY.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an order of for21 feiture is entered pursuant to this section and

22 the defendant has no assets other than the for23 feited property to pay restitution to 1 or more

24 identifiable victims who are entitled to restitu25 tion, the Government shall restore the forfeited
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1 property to the victims pursuant to subsection

2 (i)(1) once the ancillary proceeding under sub3 section (n) has been completed and the costs of

4 the forfeiture action have been deducted.

5 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION OF PROPERTY.—On

6 motion of the attorney for the Government, the

7 court may enter any order necessary to facili8 tate the distribution of any property restored

9 under this paragraph.

10 ‘‘(3) VICTIM DEFINED.—In this subsection, the

11 term ‘victim’—

12 ‘‘(A) means a person other than a person

13 with a legal right, title, or interest in the for14 feited property sufficient to satisfy the standing

15 requirements of subsection (n)(2) who may be

16 entitled to restitution from the forfeited funds

17 pursuant to section 9.8 of part 9 of title 28,

18 Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor

19 to that regulation); and

20 ‘‘(B) includes any person who is the victim

21 of the offense giving rise to the forfeiture, or of

22 any offense that was part of the same scheme,

23 conspiracy, or pattern of criminal activity, in24 cluding, in the case of a money laundering of-
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1 fense, any offense constituting the underlying

2 specified unlawful activity.’’.

3 SEC. 603. BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS NOT USED TO

4 SHIELD ILLEGAL GAINS FROM FALSE

5 CLAIMS.

6 (a) CERTAIN ACTIONS NOT STAYED BY BANK7 RUPTCY PROCEEDINGS.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

9 provision of law, the commencement or continuation

10 of an action under section 3729 of title 31, United

11 States Code, does not operate as a stay under sec12 tion 105(a) or 362(a)(1) of title 11, United States

13 Code.

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

15 362(b) of title 11, United States Code, is

16 amended—

17 (A) in paragraph (17), by striking ‘‘or’’ at

18 the end;

19 (B) in paragraph (18), by striking the pe20 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

21 (C) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(19) the commencement or continuation of an

23 action under section 3729 of title 31.’’.
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1 (b) CERTAIN DEBTS NOT DISCHARGEABLE IN BANK2 RUPTCY.—Section 523 of title 11, United States Code, is

3 amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(f) A discharge under section 727, 1141, 1228(a),

5 1228(b), or 1328(b) does not discharge a debtor from a

6 debt owed for violating section 3729 of title 31.’’.

7 (c) REPAYMENT OF CERTAIN DEBTS CONSIDERED

8 FINAL.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 11, United

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

11 following:

12 ‘‘§ 111. False claims

13 ‘‘No transfer on account of a debt owed to the United

14 States for violating 3729 of title 31, or under a com15 promise order or other agreement resolving such a debt

16 may be avoided under section 544, 545, 547, 548, 549,

17 553(b), or 742(a).’’.

18 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis

19 for chapter 1 of title 11, United States Code, is

20 amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘111. False claims.’’.

21 SEC. 604. FORFEITURE FOR RETIREMENT OFFENSES.

22 (a) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.—Section 982(a) of title

23 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

24 the following:

25 ‘‘(9) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The court, in imposing

2 sentence on a person convicted of a retirement of3 fense, shall order the person to forfeit property, real

4 or personal, that constitutes or that is derived, di5 rectly or indirectly, from proceeds traceable to the

6 commission of the offense.

7 ‘‘(B) RETIREMENT OFFENSE DEFINED.—In

8 this paragraph, the term ‘retirement offense’ means

9 a violation of any of the following provisions of law,

10 if the violation, conspiracy, or solicitation relates to

11 a retirement arrangement (as defined in section

12 1348 of title 18, United States Code):

13 ‘‘(i) Section 664, 1001, 1027, 1341, 1343,

14 1348, 1951, 1952, or 1954 of title 18, United

15 States Code.

16 ‘‘(ii) Sections 411, 501, or 511 of the Em17 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

18 (29 U.S.C. 1111, 1131, 1141).’’.

19 (b) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—Section 981(a)(1) of title

20 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

21 the following:

22 ‘‘(G) Any property, real or personal, that con23 stitutes or is derived, directly or indirectly, from pro24 ceeds traceable to the commission of a violation of,

25 a criminal conspiracy to violated or solicitation to
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1 commit a crime of violence involving a retirement of2 fense (as defined in section 982(a)(9)(B)).’’.

Æ