Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following statement during a National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions Subcommittee hearing entitled, “Following the Money: Tools and Techniques to Combat Fraud.”

Thank you, Chairman Davidson and Ranking Member Beatty for convening this hearing on fraud.

Yes, fraud losses were estimated at nearly $13 billion in 2023, but many think the actual amount is much higher. Especially for the 100 million Americans over age 50, fraud is a serious threat to their secure retirement and wellbeing.

Congress must take financial crime seriously. It must stand up for the tools it enacted like the Bank Secrecy Act and the Corporate Transparency Act to detect fraud and hold fraudsters accountable. Congress must stand up for the bank examiners, investigators, prosecutors, agencies, and consumers that are under attack by the Trump regime and his billionaire cabinet. And we must end Trump's own schemes to defraud the American public using his memecoin and stablecoin.

I thank you, and I yield back.

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