Crist signs bill to battle securities fraud - South Florida Business Journal:

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During a ceremonial bill signing Monday atthe Miami-Dadew County Courthouse, Crist, with Attorney Generalk Bill McCollum and some of the bill’a sponsors at his side, signeed the Investor Protection Act (HB 483). It givee McCollum’s office, with approval from the , the authority to investigatre andprosecute large-scale securities scam s under the state’s securities law. white-collar criminal prosecutions fell under theracketeerinhg statute, which is harder to prove. Prosecutions also were limitec to the office ofthe state’s McCollum pointed out.
Crist noted that this kind of authorityu was lacking during his tenures as attorney general and that this law woulput “teeth” into the state’e prosecutorial powers. The law enhances the Officwe ofFinancial Regulation’s enforcement powerz by increasing penalties for violators and strengthening the licensd registration requirements for securitiezs dealers. Penalties double from $5,000 to $10,009 as a result of the law, which goes into effectr Wednesday. State authorities will also be able to pursuee civil lawsuits to recover lost McCollum said. McCollum worked with Rep. Tom Grady, R-Naplesa and Sen. Garrett R-Naples on the legislation. Both attendeds the signing. Sen.
Dan D-Miami Beach, a bill sponsor, also attended Monday’s Grady is a securitiesw attorney and expert in securities regulatiojn who drafted the bill and sponsored it inthe “Now the attorney general will have the tools to do the said Grady, prior to the signing. “Ou r economy will grow stronger if investors have confidence in ourfinanciaol markets,” he said in a “By increasing the tools available to the state to prosecutw violators of our securities laws, we protect investora and foster needed trust in the system.