This bill significantly strengthens penalties for welfare fraud and creates new enforcement mechanisms. It increases criminal penalties for federal welfare fraud up to 15 years imprisonment, with mandatory minimum sentences of at least 2 years for noncitizens convicted of fraud and at least 5 years for those who fraudulently obtain $100,000 or more. The legislation also establishes new immigration consequences, making welfare fraud a deportable offense and allowing for expedited removal of noncitizens convicted of fraud-related crimes, and permits denaturalization of U.S. citizens convicted of welfare fraud. The bill creates a Welfare Fraud Recovery Task Force within the Department of Justice to investigate welfare fraud, bring civil suits, and recover funds, with civil penalties ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 plus triple damages. The task force can coordinate investigations across state lines and internationally, and recovered funds go into a new Welfare Fraud Recovery Fund to reimburse programs for fraud losses and fund prevention efforts. The bill authorizes whistleblower rewards of 15–30 percent of recovered amounts and grants Congress no specific appropriations timeline, though it authorizes "such sums as are necessary" for operations.
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