This bill lets local and Tribal law enforcement use federal funds to investigate financial fraud against the elderly and other scams.
Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act of 2026 or the GUARD Act of 2026This 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 (Fin CEN) 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 Fin CEN 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.