November 3, 2009: Kaptur Introduces Legislation to Beef Up FBI Anti-Fraud Efforts

The bill is known as the Financial Crisis of 2008 Criminal Investigation and Prosecution Act.

“Due to crippling personnel limitations, the FBI has been unable to assign sufficient agents to investigate the current global financial crisis, despite having identified the ‘epidemic’ of fraud in the mortgage markets as early as September 2004,” Kaptur said.

The bureau had substantially more personnel and resources to investigate the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s, Kaptur said, even though the 2008 crisis is significantly larger and more widespread.

“Given the magnitude of the current crisis, the resulting job losses, and the billions of taxpayer dollars spent to keep the financial system from collapsing, the FBI should have no fewer than 1,000 agents to attack fraudulent activity, uncover any crimes committed, and bring the perpetrators to justice.”