Fight Notario Fraud Act of 2020
This bill prohibits certain types of fraud or misrepresentations related to immigration matters, provides for criminal penalties for such actions, and contains related provisions.
Specifically, a person shall be subject to fines, imprisonment, or both, if that person knowingly executes a scheme related to immigration laws to (1) defraud another, or (2) receive anything of value from another based on false pretenses or representations. Such a person shall be subject to additional criminal penalties if that person (1) threatens to report another to federal or state authorities, (2) takes actions or makes attempts to adversely impact another's immigration status, or (3) demands or retains anything of value for services fraudulently performed or not performed.
Similarly, a person shall be subject to fines, imprisonment, or both, if the person knowingly and falsely claims to be an attorney or an accredited representative in any matter arising under the immigration laws. (An accredited representative is an individual authorized by the Executive Office of Immigration Review to represent clients in certain immigration matters.)
The bill provides for longer terms of imprisonment for a person who causes a cumulative loss of more than $10,000 through actions prohibited under this bill.
The Department of Justice shall establish at least 15 Special U.S. Attorney positions to enforce these provisions and take other actions related to enforcement and protecting consumers from fraudulent immigration schemes.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8225 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8225
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain types of
fraud in the provision of immigration services, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 11, 2020
Ms. Mucarsel-Powell (for herself and Ms. Garcia of Texas) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain types of
fraud in the provision of immigration services, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fight Notario Fraud Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FRAUD PROHIBITED.
(a) In General.--Chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1041. Schemes to defraud persons in any matter arising under
immigration laws
``(a) Fraud.--Any person who knowingly executes a scheme or
artifice, in connection with any matter authorized by or arising under
the immigration laws, or any matter that such person claims or
represents is authorized by or arises under the immigration laws to--
``(1) defraud any other person; or
``(2) obtain or receive money or anything else of value
from any other person by means of false or fraudulent
pretenses, representations, or promises,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or
both.
``(b) Misrepresentation.--Any person who knowingly makes a false
representation that such person is an attorney or an accredited
representative (as such term is defined under section 1292.1(a)(4) of
title 8, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation)) in
any matter arising under the immigration laws shall be fined under this
title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
``(c) Threats and Retaliation.--Any person who violates subsection
(a) and knowingly--
``(1) threatens to report another person to Federal
authorities or State law enforcement authorities working in
conjunction with or pursuant to Federal authority;
``(2) acts to adversely affect another person's immigration
status, perceived immigration status, or attempts to secure
immigration status that--
``(A) impacts or results in the removal of the
person from the United States;
``(B) leads to the loss of immigration status; or
``(C) causes the person seeking to apply for an
immigration benefit to lose an opportunity to apply for
such an immigration benefit that would have provided
immigration status and for which a person was prima
facie eligible; or
``(3) demands or retains money or anything else of value
for services fraudulently performed or not performed or
withholds or threatens to withhold services promised to be
performed,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or
both.
``(d) Gravity of Offense.--
``(1) Cumulative loss.--Any person who violates subsection
(a), (b), or (c) such that the cumulative loss to all victims
exceeds $10,000 may be imprisoned not more than 3 years, fined
under this title, or both.
``(2) Retaliation.--Any person who violates subsection (a)
or (b) and causes the harm described in subsection (c)(2) may
be imprisoned not more than 3 years, fined under this title, or
both.
``(e) Information Sharing and Enforcement.--
``(1) In general.--The Immigrant and Employee Rights
Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of
Justice--
``(A) shall have primary enforcement responsibility
for this section and shall be consulted prior to a
United States Attorney initiating an action under this
section;
``(B) shall establish procedures to receive and
investigate complaints of fraudulent immigration
schemes from the public that are consistent with the
procedures for receiving and investigating complaints
of unfair immigration-related employment practices; and
``(C) shall maintain and publish on the internet,
information aimed at protecting consumers from
fraudulent immigration schemes, as well as a list of
individuals who have been convicted of unlawful conduct
under this section or have been found by a State or
Federal agency to have unlawfully provided immigration
services.
``(2) Special united states attorneys.--The Attorney
General shall establish no fewer than 15 Special United States
Attorney positions in districts the Attorney General
determines, after analyzing data following each decennial
census, to be most affected by the fraud described in
subsections (a), (b), and (c).
``(3) Restitution.--There shall be deposited in the Crime
Victims Fund established under section 1402 of the Victims of
Crime Act of 1984 (34 U.S.C. 20101) any restitution ordered for
an offense under this section if the victim of such offense
cannot reasonably be located.
``(f) Severability.--If any provision of this section, or the
application of such a provision to any person or circumstance, is held
to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this section and the
application of the remaining provisions of this section to any person
or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
``(g) Immigration Laws.--In this section, the term `immigration
laws' has the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(17) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17)).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 47 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``1041. Schemes to defraud persons in any matter arising under
immigration laws.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Reported by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 116-533.
Reported by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 116-533.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 433.
Ms. Bass moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5149-5151)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 8225.
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5149-5150)
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.