S.Amdt. 3794

1. Adds SEC. ___. FINANCIAL FRAUD PROVISIONS wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. ___. FINANCIAL FRAUD PROVISIONS.

   Inserted: (a) Sentencing Guidelines.--

   Inserted: (1) Securities fraud.--

   Inserted: (A) Directive.--Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, United States Code, and in accordance with this paragraph, the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of offenses relating to securities fraud or any other similar provision of law, in order to reflect the intent of Congress that penalties for the offenses be increased in comparison to those provided on the date of enactment of this Act under the guidelines and policy statements, and appropriately account for the potential and actual harm to the public and the financial markets from the offenses.

   Inserted: (B) Requirements.--In amending the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and policy statements under subparagraph (A), the United States Sentencing Commission shall--

   Inserted: (i) ensure that the guidelines and policy statements, particularly section 2B1.1(b)(14) and section 2B1.1(b)(17) (and any successors thereto), reflect--

   Inserted: (I) the serious nature of the offenses described in subparagraph (A);

   Inserted: (II) the need for an effective deterrent and appropriate punishment to prevent the offenses; and

   Inserted: (III) the effectiveness of incarceration in furthering the objectives described in subclauses (I) and (II);

   Inserted: (ii) consider the extent to which the guidelines appropriately account for the potential and actual harm to the public and the financial markets resulting from the offenses;

   Inserted: (iii) ensure reasonable consistency with other relevant directives and guidelines and Federal statutes;

   Inserted: (iv) make any necessary conforming changes to guidelines; and

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   Inserted: (v) ensure that the guidelines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing, as set forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.

   Inserted: (2) Financial institution fraud.--

   Inserted: (A) Directive.--Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, United States Code, and in accordance with this paragraph, the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of fraud offenses relating to financial institutions or federally related mortgage loans and any other similar provisions of law, to reflect the intent of Congress that the penalties for the offenses be increased in comparison to those provided on the date of enactment of this Act under the guidelines and policy statements and to ensure a term of imprisonment for offenders involved in substantial bank frauds or other frauds relating to financial institutions.

   Inserted: (B) Requirements.--In amending the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and policy statements under subparagraph (A), the United States Sentencing Commission shall--

   Inserted: (i) ensure that the guidelines and policy statements reflect--

   Inserted: (I) the serious nature of the offenses described in subparagraph (A);

   Inserted: (II) the need for an effective deterrent and appropriate punishment to prevent the offenses; and

   Inserted: (III) the effectiveness of incarceration in furthering the objectives described in subclauses (I) and (II);

   Inserted: (ii) consider the extent to which the guidelines appropriately account for the potential and actual harm to the public and the financial markets resulting from the offenses;

   Inserted: (iii) ensure reasonable consistency with other relevant directives and guidelines and Federal statutes;

   Inserted: (iv) make any necessary conforming changes to guidelines; and

   Inserted: (v) ensure that the guidelines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing, as set forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.

   Inserted: (b) Extension of Statute of Limitations for Securities Fraud Violations.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--Chapter 213 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "Sec. 3301. Securities fraud offenses

   Inserted: "(a) Definition.--In this section, the term 'securities fraud offense' means a violation of, or a conspiracy or an attempt to violate--

   Inserted: "(1) section 1348;

   Inserted: "(2) section 32(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78ff(a));

   Inserted: "(3) section 24 of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77x);

   Inserted: "(4) section 217 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-17);

   Inserted: "(5) section 49 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-48); or

   Inserted: "(6) section 325 of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (15 U.S.C. 77yyy).

   Inserted: "(b) Limitation.--No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for a securities fraud offense, unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted within 6 years after the commission of the offense.".

   Inserted: (2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 213 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "3301. Securities fraud offenses.".

   Inserted: (c) False Claims and International Money Laundering.--

   Inserted: (1) Amendments to the false claims act relating to limitations on actions.--Section 3730(h) of title 31, United States Code, is amended--

   Inserted: (A) in paragraph (1), by striking "or agent on behalf of the employee, contractor, or agent or associated others in furtherance of other efforts to stop 1 or more violations of this subchapter" and inserting "agent or associated others in furtherance of an action under this section or other efforts to stop 1 or more violations of this subchapter"; and

   Inserted: (B) by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(3) Limitation on bringing civil action.--A civil action under this subsection may not be brought more than 3 years after the date when the retaliation occurred.".

   Inserted: (2) Amendments to the false claims act relating to awards to qui tam plaintiffs.--Section 3730(d)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended, in the second sentence, by striking "in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accounting Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media," and inserting "in a Federal criminal, civil or administrative hearing in which the Government or its agent is a party, in a congressional, Government Accountability Office, or other Federal audit, report, hearing or investigation, or in the news media,".

   Inserted: (3) Application of the international money laundering statute to tax evasion.--Section 1956(a)(2)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by--

   Inserted: (A) inserting "(i)" before "with the intent to promote"; and

   Inserted: (B) adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(ii) with the intent to engage in conduct constituting a violation of section 7201 or 7206 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or".

   Inserted: (d) Promoting Criminal Accountability.--

   Inserted: (1) Definitions.--In this subsection--

   Inserted: (A) the terms "Bureau" and "Federal consumer financial law" have the meanings given those terms in section 1002; and

   Inserted: (B) the term "civil investigative demand" has the meaning given that term in section 1051.

   Inserted: (2) Review of civil investigative demands by attorney general.--

   Inserted: (A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Bureau may not issue a civil investigative demand unless--

   Inserted: (i) the Bureau consults with the Attorney General of the United States regarding the civil investigative demand; and

   Inserted: (ii) the Attorney General determines that issuing the civil investigative demand would be consistent with the guidelines issued under subparagraph (C).

   Inserted: (B) Period for review.--If the Attorney General has not made a determination described in subparagraph (A)(ii) as of the date that is 45 days after the date on which the Attorney General receives a request to issue a civil investigative demand, the Attorney General shall be deemed to have determined that issuing the civil investigative demand would be consistent with the guidelines issued under subparagraph (C).

   Inserted: (C) Guidelines.--

   Inserted: (i) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Bureau, shall promulgate guidelines for parallel proceedings involving the Federal consumer financial laws.

   Inserted: (ii) Considerations.--In promulgating guidelines under this subparagraph, the Attorney General and the Bureau shall consider--

   Inserted: (I) the significant deterrent and punitive effects of criminal sanctions;

   Inserted: (II) the ability to use a criminal conviction as collateral estoppel in a subsequent civil case;

   Inserted: (III) the possibility that the imposition of civil penalties might undermine a prosecution or the severity of a subsequent criminal sentence;

   Inserted: (IV) preservation of the secrecy of a criminal investigation, including the use of covert investigative techniques;

   Inserted: (V) prevention of the premature discovery of evidence by a defendant in a criminal case through the exploitation by the defendant of the civil discovery process;

   Inserted: (VI) avoidance of unnecessary litigation issues, such as unfounded defense claims of misuse of process in a civil or criminal action; and

   Inserted: (VII) avoidance of duplicative interviews of witnesses and subjects.

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   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

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As printed