Law lets police use crime grants to fight elder fraud

What it does

The bill lets state and local police use federal crime money for fraud cases. It covers elder fraud, pig butchering scams, and other financial fraud. Federal police can help local police use blockchain tools to trace money. Police must report back on what they spent and what they found. The Treasury Department must report to Congress about fraud in the country.

Who it affects

Elderly people and others who fall for investment scams get more police help. Police departments get to use existing federal money for fraud cases.

One thing to notice

The bill uses money that already exists instead of asking for new money.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

54 cosponsors: 30 Republicans, 24 Democrats.

• Apr 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services and House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a…”
• May 13, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• May 13, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 52 - 0”
• Sep 14, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Ms. De La Cruz moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
• Sep 15, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required)…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

7 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 9 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $18,370,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 24 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 86% of bills with any report.

Zachary (Zach) Nunn, who sponsored the bill, received $1,842,827 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• AARP — $5,300,000 in 1 report
• American Bankers Association — $3,510,000 in 1 report
• Capital One Financial Corporation — $2,950,000 in 2 reports
• National Multifamily Housing Council Inc — $2,330,000 in 1 report
• Independent Community Bankers of America — $2,170,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• pig butchering scams — Fraud where someone builds a fake relationship to trick a person into sending money.
• blockchain — A computer system that records money transfers and can help trace where money went.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.