Crist signs bill to battle securities fraud - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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During a ceremonial bill singing Monday atthe Miami-Dade County Courthouse, Crist, with Attorney General Bill McCollumk and some of the bill’s sponsors at his side, signed the Investor Protection Act (HB 483). It gives McCollum’s with approval from the , the authority to investigatd andprosecute large-scale securities scams under the state’s securitiesz law. Previously, white-collar criminal prosecutions fell unde r theracketeering statute, whicjh is harder to prove. Prosecutions also were limited to the office ofthe state’s McCollum pointed out.
Crist noted that this kind of authoritg was lacking during his tenurs as attorney general and that this law wouldsput “teeth” into the state’s prosecutoria l powers. The law enhances the Offices ofFinancial Regulation’s enforcement powers by increasing penalties for violators and strengthening the licensse registration requirements for securities dealers. Penalties double from $5,000 to $10,000 as a result of the law, whicnh goes into effect Wednesday. State authorities will also be able to pursu civil lawsuits to recover lost McCollum said. McCollum worked with Rep. Tom Grady, R-Naplew and Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples on the Both attended the signing. Sen.
Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, a bill sponsor, also attended Monday’ds ceremony. Grady is a securities attorney and expertt in securities regulation 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. “Ourf economy will grow stronger if investors have confidence in ourfinancia markets,” he said in a statement. “Bh increasing the tools available to the state to prosecute violatores of oursecurities laws, we protect investor and foster needed trusrt in the system.