A coalition of Senate Republicans have introduced the Law Enforcement Tools to Interdict Troubling Investments in Abodes (LETITIA) Act, which is designed public officials accountable if they are found to have enriched themselves through federal bank fraud, tax fraud, or loan or mortgage fraud.
The bill’s name is inspired by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who became the subject of a Department of Justice investigation following a referral from the Federal Housing Finance Agency alleging mortgage application fraud involving her properties in New York and Virginia.
The bill seeks to increase federal statutory maximum sentences and fines for public officials who are found to have committed bank fraud, loan or mortgage fraud, or tax fraud while creating new mandatory minimum sentences – one year for bank fraud, one year for loan or mortgage fraud, and six months for tax fraud – to ensure corrupt public officials serve prison time.
Furthermore, public officials who engage in a continuing course of criminal conduct by committing three or more of these offenses would face mandatory minimum sentences of up to five years for bank or loan fraud, and two years for tax fraud.
“The American people should be able to trust their elected officials to follow the letter of the law, not take advantage of their positions for personal gain,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). “This legislation would empower President Trump to hold crooked politicians like New York’s Letitia James accountable for defrauding their constituents, violating their oath of office, and breaking the law, and I’m proud to lead my Republican colleagues in introducing it.”
Cornyn was joined in the bill’s presentation by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Kennedy (R-LA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
