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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10452 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10452
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
December 17, 2024
Ms. Escobar 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 2024''.
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 Attorney General shall--
``(A) establish procedures to receive complaints of
fraudulent immigration schemes from the public that are
consistent with the procedures for receiving complaints
of unfair immigration-related employment practices in
place on the date of the enactment of the Fight Notario
Fraud Act of 2024;
``(B) report, on an annual basis, to the Senate
Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on the
Judiciary the number of completed prosecutions
undertaken pursuant to subsections (a), (b), and (c),
including a description of the case and outcome,
relevant demographic and linguistic information, and
any immigration consequences suffered by the victims
involved; and
``(C) maintain and publish on the internet,
information in commonly spoken languages other than
English, including Spanish, Mandarin, Korean, and
Tagalog, on how to identify, prevent, and report
instances of fraud described in subsections (a), (b),
and (c).
``(2) Special united states attorneys.--
``(A) In general.--The Attorney General shall
establish no fewer than 15 Special United States
Attorney positions in districts the Attorney General
determines to be most affected by the fraud described
in subsections (a), (b), and (c), to investigate and
prosecute allegations of fraud described in subsections
(a), (b), and (c) and should resources permit any other
consumer protection laws under this chapter.
``(B) Linguistic competence.--With respect to the
Special United States Attorney positions under
subparagraph (A), the Attorney General shall consider
the linguistic competency of a prosecutor appointed to
serve in such a position to ensure that the prosecutor
may effectively prosecute cases involving non-English
speaking victims and witnesses.
``(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) Injunction Against Fraud.--Section 1345 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(c) If a person is violating or about to violate this chapter or
chapter 47 of this title, the Attorney General may commence a civil
action in any Federal court to enjoin such violation.''.
(c) 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.
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