Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 3.djvu/770

 114 STAT. 1868 PUBLIC LAW 106-420—NOV. 1, 2000 28 USC 994 note. 20 USC 1092d. Deadline. Internet. SEC. 3. SENTENCING ENHANCEMENT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FRAUD. Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall amend the Federal sentencing guidelines in order to provide for enhanced penalties for any offense involving fraud or misrepresentation in connection with the obtaining or providing of, or the furnishing of information to a consumer on, any scholarship, grant, loan, tuition, discount, award, or other financial assistance for purposes of financing an education at an institution of higher education, such that those penalties are comparable to the base offense level for misrepresentation that the defendant was acting on behalf of a charitable, educational, religious, or political organization, or a government agency. SEC. 4. EXCLUSION OF DEBTS RELATING TO COLLEGE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES FRAUD FROM PERMISSIBLE EXEMP- TIONS OF PROPERTY FROM ESTATES IN BANKRUPTCY. Section 522(c) of title 11, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking "or" at the end of paragraph (2); (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting "; or"; and (3) by adding at the end the following: "(4) a debt in connection with fraud in the obtaining or providing of any scholarship, grant, loan, tuition, discount, award, or other financial assistance for purposes of financing an education at an institution of higher education (as that term is defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act ofl965(20 U.S.C. 1001)).". SEC. 5. SCHOLARSHIP FRAUD ASSESSMENT AND AWARENESS ACTIVI- TIES. (a) ANNUAL REPORT ON SCHOLARSHIP FRAUD.— (1) REQUIREMENT.— The Attorney General and the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission, shall jointly submit to Congress each year a report on fraud in the offering of financial assistance for purposes of financing an education at an institution of higher education. Each report shall contain an assessment of the nature and quantity of incidents of such fraud during the one-year period ending on the date of such report. (2) INITIAL REPORT.— The first report under paragraph (1) shall be submitted not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) NATIONAL AWARENESS ACTIVITIES.— The Secretary of Education shall, in conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission, maintain a scholarship fraud awareness site on the Internet web site of the Department of Education. The scholarship fraud awareness site may include the following: (1) Appropriate materials from the Project Scholarscam awareness campaign of the Commission, including examples of common fraudulent schemes. (2) A list of companies and individuals who have been convicted of scholarship fraud in Federal or State court. (3) An Internet-based message board to provide a forum for public complaints and experiences with scholarship fraud.

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