119-s2680

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2680 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2680

 To establish sentencing enhancements for offenses relating to bank, 
mortgage, credit, and tax fraud committed by elected public officials, 
 and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 August 2, 2025

 Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Budd, Mr. 
 Kennedy, Mr. Ricketts, and Mr. Daines) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To establish sentencing enhancements for offenses relating to bank, 
mortgage, credit, and tax fraud committed by elected public officials, 
 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 ``Law Enforcement Tools to Interdict 
Troubling Investments in Abodes Act'' or the ``LETITIA Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 It is the sense of Congress that:

    (1) In the United States, citizens elect civic and 
 political leaders to represent their interests and act on their 
 behalf.

    (2) In return for being given this sacred trust, public 
 officials are expected to fully adhere to the highest ethical 
 and moral standards, and must discharge their duties 
 faithfully, honestly, and impartially, free from any personal 
 considerations or gain.

    (3) Public service is a public trust, and the Government 
 only functions when there is trust between the electorate and 
 public officials.

    (4) When public officials abuse the faith that citizens 
 place in them by committing crimes of dishonesty or moral 
 turpitude, they betray both their office and the public, and 
 deserve heightened punishment.

    (5) Fraud is, at its core, a crime of dishonesty.

    (6) Mortgage, bank, credit, and tax frauds require 
 deception and lies, and harm the victim financial institutions, 
 investors, and the broader public.

    (7) Therefore, public officials who commit these crimes 
 deserve punishments above and beyond what a normal citizen 
 should receive.

    (8) Such punishment must include mandatory minimum 
 sentences of imprisonment for any public official to ensure 
 that they cannot abuse their positions of influence to cut 
 sweetheart or backroom deals that the average citizen would be 
 unable to make.

    (9) If a public official commits multiple frauds, 
 demonstrating a pattern and practice of dishonest, unethical, 
 and illegal behavior, justice demands that the public official 
 should face even harsher mandatory penalties.

    (10) No person is above the law, and public officials who 
 commit fraud must be held to account. Integrity matters.

SEC. 3. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS WHO COMMIT BANK FRAUD.

 

Section 1344 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

    (1) in the matter preceding paragraph

    (1) , by striking 
 ``Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute,'' and 
 inserting the following:
 ``

    (a) Offense.--It shall be unlawful to knowingly execute, or 
attempt to execute,'';

    (2) in subsection

    (a)

    (2) , as so designated by paragraph

    (1) , by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting a 
 period;

    (3) by striking ``shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 
 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.''; and

    (4) by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (b) Penalty.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph

    (2) , a 
 person convicted of a violation of subsection

    (a) shall be 
 fined not more than $1,000,000, imprisoned not more than 30 
 years, or both.
 ``

    (2) Public official.--
 ``
        (A) === Definition. ===
-In this paragraph, the term 
 `public official' means an officer, employee, elected 
 or appointed representative of, or an individual acting 
 for or on behalf of, the United States, a State, or a 
 subdivision of a State, or any department, agency, or 
 branch of government, in any official function, under 
 or by the authority of any such department, agency, or 
 branch of government.
 ``
        (B) Enhanced penalties.--In the case of an 
 individual who is a public official at the time of an 
 offense described in subsection

    (a) --
 ``
            (i) if the offense is the first or second 
 such offense, the individual shall be fined not 
 more than $1,500,000 and imprisoned not less 
 than 1 year and not more than 35 years; and
 ``
            (ii) if the offense is the third or 
 subsequent such offense, the individual shall 
 be fined not more than $2,000,000 and 
 imprisoned not less than 5 years and not more 
 than 40 years.''.

SEC. 4. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS WHO FALSIFY LOAN AND 
 CREDIT APPLICATIONS.

 

Section 1014 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

    (1) by striking ``Whoever knowingly'' and inserting:
 ``

    (a) Offense.--Whoever knowingly'';

    (2) by striking ``shall'' and all that follows, and 
 inserting ``shall be punished as provided in subsection

    (b) .''; 
 and

    (3) by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (b) Penalty.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph

    (2) , a 
 person convicted of a violation of subsection

    (a) shall be 
 fined not more than $1,000,000, imprisoned not more than 30 
 years, or both.
 ``

    (2) Public officials.--In the case of an individual who 
 is a public official at the time of an offense described in 
 subsection

    (a) --
 ``
        (A) if the offense is the first or second such 
 offense, the individual shall be fined not more than 
 $1,500,000 and imprisoned not less than 1 year and not 
 more than 35 years; and
 ``
        (B) if the offense is the third or subsequent 
 such offense, the individual shall be fined not more 
 than $2,000,000 and imprisoned not less than 5 years 
 and not more than 40 years.
 ``
            (c) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:
 ``

    (1) Public official.--The term `public official' means an 
 officer, employee, elected or appointed representative of, or 
 an individual acting for or on behalf of, the United States, a 
 State, or a subdivision of a State, or any department, agency, 
 or branch of government, in any official function, under or by 
 the authority of any such department, agency, or branch of 
 government.
 ``

    (2) State-chartered credit union.--The term `State-
 chartered credit union' includes a credit union chartered under 
 the laws of a State of the United States, the District of 
 Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 
 United States.''.

SEC. 5. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS WHO FALSIFY TAX 
 FILINGS.

 

Section 7206 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--

    (1) by striking ``Any person'' and inserting the following:
 ``

    (a) In General.--Any person'', and

    (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
 ``

    (b) Enhanced Penalty for Public Officials.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--In the case of an individual who is a 
 public official at the time of an offense described in 
 subsection

    (a) --
 ``
        (A) if the offense is the first or second such 
 offense, subsection

    (a) shall be applied--
 ``
            (i) by substituting `$150,000' for 
 `$100,000', and
 ``
            (ii) by substituting `not less than 6 
 months and not more than 5 years' for `not more 
 than 3 years', and
 ``
        (B) if the offense is the third or subsequent 
 such offence, subsection

    (a) shall be applied--
 ``
            (i) by substituting `$200,000' for 
 `$100,000', and
 ``
            (ii) by substituting `not less than 2 
 years and not more than 10 years' for `not more 
 than 3 years'.
 ``

    (2) Public official.--For purposes of this subsection, 
 the term `public official' means an officer, employee, elected 
 or appointed representative of, or an individual acting for or 
 on behalf of, the United States, a State, or a subdivision of a 
 State, or any department, agency, or branch of government, in 
 any official function, under or by the authority of any such 
 department, agency, or branch of government.''.

SEC. 6. PUBLIC INTEGRITY ENFORCEMENT GUIDANCE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF 
 JUSTICE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY.

    (a) Directive to Department of Justice Law Enforcement Officials 
and Task Forces.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue a 
 directive to--
        (A) all Federal law enforcement officers and 
 relevant personnel employed by the Department of 
 Justice who may be involved in the investigation of 
 bank fraud and falsification of loan and credit 
 applications; and
        (B) members of all task forces led by the 
 Department of Justice or a component thereof that 
 participate in the investigation of bank fraud and 
 falsification of loan and credit applications.

    (2) Required instructions.--The directive required to be 
 issued under paragraph

    (1) shall include instructions on--
        (A) the updates made by this Act to sections 1014 
 and 1344 of title 18, United States Code; and
        (B) the investigation of public officials who 
 commit bank fraud and falsification of loan and credit 
 applications and how such individuals should be 
 investigated for such acts.

    (b) Directive to Department of Treasury Officials.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
 consultation with the Attorney General, shall issue a directive 
 to--
        (A) all Federal law enforcement officers and 
 relevant personnel employed by the Department of the 
 Treasury who may be involved in the investigation of 
 falsified tax filings; and
        (B) members of all task forces led by the 
 Department of the Treasury or a component thereof that 
 participate in the investigation of falsified tax 
 filings.

    (2) Required instructions.--The directive required to be 
 issued under paragraph

    (1) shall include instructions on--
        (A) the updates made by this Act to 

section 7206 of 
 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
        (B) the investigation of public officials who 
 falsify tax filings and how such individuals should be 
 investigated for such acts; and
            (C) best practices for collaborating with the 
 Department of Justice and components thereof in the 
 investigation and prosecution of public officials who 
 falsify tax filings.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

 The amendments made by this Act shall apply to convictions after 
the date of enactment of this Act.
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