February 3, 2009

• Read Sen. Shelby's release: http://shelby.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=ff88f2ed-802a-23ad-4ea7-616bd5b5bead

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - On his Web site, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama has announced his co-sponsorship of the Supplemental Anti-Fraud Enforcement (SAFE) Markets Act. If adopted by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama, the measure would dedicate an additional $110 million annually to hire hundreds of new investigators and prosecutors inside the financial fraud units at the nation's top law enforcement agencies. The bill's introduction comes on the heals of the Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme, which cost thousands of international investors, many of them charities and banks, an estimated $50 billion in investments and savings.

"The Madoff scheme has received much of the attention, but the ongoing financial crisis has revealed dozens more multi-million dollar securities and accounting fraud schemes that have been going on for some time," said UAB Associate Professor of Forensic Accounting Tommie Singleton, Ph.D.

Singleton said the ongoing schemes being uncovered now could be just the tip of the iceberg, and the Shelby bill's goal to increase financial fraud investigators could prove crucial as the country's deepening financial crisis is likely to drive more people to commit fraud or steal funds from their employers.

"Financial fraud always increases when personal wealth decreases," Singleton said. "People are losing money, their retirement accounts are wiped out, and in a growing number of cases desperation will drive people to fudge financial numbers or cook to the books for personal gain."