President Obama has signed an executive order establishing an interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The Department of Justice will lead the task force and the Department of Treasury, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will serve on the steering committee.
The task force will work with state and local partners to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, address discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims.
‘This task force's mission is not just to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial meltdown, but to prevent another meltdown from happening,’ Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
The task force will replace the Corporate Task Force established under President Bush in 2002 and include senior-level officials from all the federal banking regulatory agencies.
‘Many financial frauds are complicated puzzles that require painstaking efforts to piece together," said SEC Chair Mary Schapiro. "By formally coordinating our efforts, we will be better able to identify the pieces, assemble the puzzle and put an end to the fraud."
Holder will convene the first meeting of the tax force in the next 30 days.
SOURCE: U.S. Treasury Department