Assembly Bill 3229, introduced by Asm. Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood), has taken an important step forward this week by successfully passing out of the Assembly Committee on Public Safety. AB 3229 allows the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to access certain information from a bank when investigating criminal cases involving fraudulent use of checks.
AB 3229 ensures the Department of Justice can better serve Californians by thoroughly investigating and prosecuting cases of fraud,” stated Assemblywoman Burke. “Financial fraud is extremely harmful to consumers, banks, and business. We need to give law enforcement every tool they need in order to investigate and prosecute criminals,” said Burke.
AB 3229 gives the DOJ statutory, by-right authorization to request information regarding bank accounts and other pertinent material when alleged fraud has taken place using checks, money orders, cards or any other financial instrument one uses to transfer cash out of a bank account.
“The California Department of Justice is committed to protecting consumers from financial fraud,” said Attorney General Becerra. “AB 3229 will help facilitate information sharing between the Department of Justice and banks when a case involves fraudulent checks. This will help strengthen my team’s ability to crack down on check fraudsters that take advantage of innocent, hard-working Californians.”
Furthermore, by amending Government Code Section 7480, AB 3229 can significantly bolster efforts by the DOJ’s Bureau of Gambling Control, as it is common for check fraudsters to pass counterfeit checks at multiple casinos and card rooms in various counties.
