Donald M. Payne Jr. for Congressman: Votes to Protect American Consumers from Scammers

Media Contact:  Patrick Wright   --  Patrick.Wright@mail.house.gov

Washington, D.C. — Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. voted today for a bill to grant the federal government more power to protect Americans from scammers, fraudsters and other criminals.  The bill, The Consumer Protection and Recovery Act (H.R. 2668), restores the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to recover money stolen from American businesses and consumers through fraudulent activities.  These activities, such as pyramid schemes, government imposter scams, and computer malware, have increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We need to empower the FTC to go after the online and phone scammers that victimize Americans every day,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr.  “This bill would help us protect the most vulnerable Americans, such as senior citizens, from these scams and return millions of dollars back to them.  I voted for this bill because people need to know that the government supports them and will fight for them against these criminals.”

Recently, the FTC was the primary consumer protection agency to help Americans get back money stolen through scams until the Supreme Court said it could not seek to return money to these victims in an April ruling.  This bill restores that power to the FTC and gives it the ability to pursue a variety of relief options, including restitution for losses, property refunds, and the return of all funds and possessions gained through illegal and fraudulent activities. 

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