State, local, and tribal police departments would gain new flexibility under this bill to spend certain existing federal grant money on investigating elder financial fraud, "pig butchering" cryptocurrency scams, and general financial fraud — including hiring investigators, buying software, and training officers to trace blockchain transactions. It also lets federal law enforcement agencies help local police use blockchain-tracing tools when following the money in these cases. Agencies that use grant funds this way must report back within a year on how much they spent, local fraud statistics, and whether the funding made a difference. The Treasury Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) would also have to deliver reports to Congress — one within a year on enforcement efforts, and a fuller one within two years estimating how many Americans are victimized by scams and how much money they lose. The bill mainly affects law enforcement agencies and, indirectly, the elderly Americans and other consumers these investigations aim to protect.
Transparency & Accountability
- Reporting requirements — Grant recipients report fund use and fraud outcomes within 1 year
- Reporting requirements — Treasury and FinCEN report to Congress on fraud-fighting efforts within 1 year
- Reporting requirements — Treasury and FinCEN report to Congress on nationwide scam trends within 2 years
- Reporting requirements — Grant agencies submit annual reports to four congressional committees
Congressional Summary
Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act or the GUARD ActThis 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 Department of the Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to report on efforts and recommendations related to general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and scams. The bill also requires Treasury and FinCEN to report on the state of scams in the United States, including information about crimes committed, federal civil and criminal enforcement actions, and federal efforts to address the crimes.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-02-09
- Date Added
- 2026-07-11
- Source
- Congress.gov →
Like reading a bill in plain English?
We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.