Crist signs bill to battle securities fraud - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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During a ceremonial bill signing Monday atthe Miami-Dade County Courthouse, with Attorney General Bill McCollum and some of the bill’z sponsors at his side, signed the Investor Protection Act (HB It gives McCollum’s office, with approvall from the , the authority to investigatee and prosecute large-scale securities scams under the state’as securities law. Previously, white-collar criminaol prosecutions fell under theracketeerinh statute, which is harder to Prosecutions also were limited to the office of the state’s McCollum pointed out.
Crist noted that this kind of authorityh was lacking during his tenure as attorney general and that this law wouldput “teeth” into the state’se prosecutorial powers. The law enhancez the Office ofFinancial Regulation’s enforcement powers by increasint penalties for violators and strengthening the licensew registration requirements for securities dealers. Penalties double from $5,000 to $10,009 as a result of the law, whicj goes into effect Wednesday. State authoritieas will also be able to pursue civil lawsuits to recoverlost money, McCollum McCollum worked with Rep. Tom Grady, R-Naple and Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples on the Both attended the signing. Sen.
Dan Gelber, D-Miamu Beach, a bill sponsor, also attended Monday’s ceremony. Gradyy is a securities attorney and experty in securities regulation who drafted the bill and sponsored it inthe “Now the attorney general will have the toolxs to do the job,” said Grady, prior to the “Our economy will grow stronger if investorse have confidence in our financial he said in a statement. “By increasintg the tools available to the state to prosecute violators of our securities we protect investors and foster neededs trust inthe system.