H.R. 5490: Dismantle Foreign Scam Syndicates Act

Dismantle Foreign Scam Syndicates Act

This bill requires the President to (1) impose applicable sanctions on foreign persons (individuals or entities) responsible for online financial scams against U.S. nationals, and (2) establish an interagency task force to shut down the criminal syndicates perpetuating such scams.

Under the bill, the President must determine whether 43 specified foreign persons, and any other foreign persons the President determines are responsible for or complicit in online financial scams against U.S. nationals, are subject to sanctions under specified laws and Executive Order 13581. Upon such determination, the President must impose applicable sanctions (for example, blocking the sanctioned person's property transactions within the United States).

The President must also establish an interagency task force to shut down transnational criminal syndicates that use large scam centers and forced labor of trafficked persons to perpetuate mass online scams against Americans. The task force must (1) submit a comprehensive strategy to Congress to combat these scam centers and dismantle the criminal elements involved with them, and (2) coordinate and oversee implementation of the strategy. Within 360 days of submitting the strategy to Congress and annually thereafter for five years the task force must submit to Congress a report addressing various topics related to such scam centers including a list of all foreign persons sanctioned by the United States for their scam center involvement.

The Department of State is authorized to provide trauma-informed care, shelter, reintegration, and support services for victims of trafficking in persons within online scam centers.