YourVoice.Now Summary
Criminal Justice & Due ProcessTransparency & AccountabilityPolice could use grants they already get to chase elder scams — and trace stolen crypto.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
Four Justice Department grant programs could pay for these cases. That covers elder fraud, “pig butchering,” and other money scams. Other grantees, not just police, could use the money too. The bill adds no new funds, so these uses would compete with what the grants pay for now.
Federal agencies could show local and Tribal police how to use blockchain tracing tools. Fusion centers — state hubs where local, state, and federal police share tips — could get the same help.
Transparency & Accountability
A department or grantee that spends this money would report back within a year. It would list the amount, the purpose, and local fraud numbers. The agency that gave the grant sends that to four committees each year.
Treasury's money-crimes unit (FinCEN) would report within two years, then every two years. It would count the scam reports banks file, the dollars involved, and how often crypto shows up. It would also say how much money police asked it to freeze, and how much came back.
More about this bill
Local police could put federal grant money they already get toward chasing scams that target older people. That includes “pig butchering” — a slow con that ends with the victim's crypto gone. Departments could hire analysts, buy tracing software, and train officers to help victims. Other groups that get these grants could spend them the same way. The bill adds no new money, so those dollars would come out of existing grants. Federal agents could also help local police trace crypto payments. That help would reach fusion centers, where state and federal police share tips. Within two years, and every two years after, the Treasury Department would report to Congress on scam trends. It would draw on the suspicious-activity reports banks already file, including how often crypto shows up. It would also say how much scam money police helped freeze or get back. The House passed the bill on September 15, 2026.
Congressional Summary
Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act of 2026 or the GUARD Act of 2026 This bill allows state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and grantees that receive funds from certain law enforcement grant programs to use the funds to investigate general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, and pig butchering. Pig butchering refers to a confidence and investment fraud in which a victim is gradually lured into transferring increasing amounts of money, generally in the form of cryptocurrency, into a fake virtual investment. The bill allows federal law enforcement agencies to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and fusion centers in the use of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology tools. Finally, the bill requires the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to report on efforts to combat general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and scams, including an evaluation of any legislative recommendations to improve the efforts. The bill also requires FinCEN to report on the state of general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and scams in the United States, including trends in the crimes.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Passed House
- Action Date
- 2026-09-15
- Date Added
- 2026-07-22
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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