II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 365 

To establish in the Department of Justice the Nationwide Mortgage Fraud 

Task Force to address mortgage fraud in the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 3, 2009 

Mr. NELSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish in the Department of Justice the Nationwide 

Mortgage Fraud Task Force to address mortgage fraud 

in the United States, 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 ‘‘Nationwide Mortgage 

5 Fraud Task Force Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONWIDE MORTGAGE FRAUD TASK FORCE. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

8 Department of Justice the Nationwide Mortgage Fraud 

9 Task Force (hereinafter referred to in this section as the 


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1 ‘‘Task Force’’) to address mortgage fraud in the United 

2 States. 

3 (b) SUPPORT.—The Attorney General shall provide 

4 the Task Force with the appropriate staff, administrative 

5 support, and other resources necessary to carry out the 

6 duties of the Task Force. 

7 (c) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Attorney General 

8 shall appoint one staff member provided to the Task Force 

9 to be the Executive Director of the Task Force and such 

10 Executive Director shall ensure that the duties of the Task 

11 Force are carried out. 

12 (d) BRANCHES.—The Task Force shall establish, 

13 oversee, and direct branches in each of the 10 States de14 termined by the Attorney General to have the highest con15 centration of mortgage fraud. 

16 (e) MANDATORY FUNCTIONS.—The Task Force, in17 cluding the branches of the Task Force established under 

18 subsection (d), shall— 

19 (1) establish coordinating entities, and solicit 

20 the voluntary participation of Federal, State, and 

21 local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies in 

22 such entities, to organize initiatives to address mort23 gage fraud, including initiatives to enforce State 

24 mortgage fraud laws and other related Federal and 

25 State laws; 


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1 (2) provide training to Federal, State, and local 

2 law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies with re3 spect to mortgage fraud, including related Federal 

4 and State laws; 

5 (3) collect and disseminate data with respect to 

6 mortgage fraud, including Federal, State, and local 

7 data relating to mortgage fraud investigations and 

8 prosecutions; and 

9 (4) perform other functions determined by the 

10 Attorney General to enhance the detection of, pre11 vention of, and response to mortgage fraud in the 

12 United States. 

13 (f) OPTIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Task Force, includ14 ing the branches of the Task Force established under sub15 section (d), may— 

16 (1) initiate and coordinate Federal mortgage 

17 fraud investigations and, through the coordinating 

18 entities established under subsection (e), State and 

19 local mortgage fraud investigations; 

20 (2) establish a toll-free hotline for— 

21 (A) reporting mortgage fraud; 

22 (B) providing the public with access to in23 formation and resources with respect to mort24 gage fraud; and 


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1 (C) directing reports of mortgage fraud to 

2 the appropriate Federal, State, and local law 

3 enforcement and prosecutorial agency, including 

4 to the appropriate branch of the Task Force es5 tablished under subsection (d); 

6 (3) create a database with respect to suspen7 sions and revocations of mortgage industry licenses 

8 and certifications to facilitate the sharing of such in9 formation by States; 

10 (4) make recommendations with respect to the 

11 need for and resources available to provide the 

12 equipment and training necessary for the Task 

13 Force to combat mortgage fraud; and 

14 (5) propose legislation to Federal, State, and 

15 local legislative bodies with respect to the elimination 

16 and prevention of mortgage fraud, including meas17 ures to address mortgage loan procedures and prop18 erty appraiser practices that provide opportunities 

19 for mortgage fraud. 

20 (g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘mort21 gage fraud’’ means a material misstatement, misrepresen22 tation, or omission relating to the property or potential 

23 mortgage relied on by an underwriter or lender to fund, 

24 purchase, or insure a loan. 

Æ 


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