S. 2950 — Scam Compound Accountability and Mobilization Act

This section states the sense of Congress that transnational cyber-enabled fraud from scam compounds in Southeast Asia—particularly those affiliated with PRC organizations and responsible for $13.7 billion in U.S. losses in 2024 per FBI reports—poses a growing threat involving human trafficking of victims from over 40 countries primarily to compounds in Burma, Cambodia, and Laos, with expansion to Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. It further states the sense of Congress that the United States should pursue accountability through targeted financial sanctions, visa restrictions, asset seizures, and forfeiture; enhance international cooperation on information sharing, prevention, awareness, and law enforcement; and provide victim-centered support to survivors of forced criminality.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including revising "appropriate congressional committees" to encompass eight committees by adding the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, House Committee on Financial Services, and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (to the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and the Judiciary and House Committees on Foreign Affairs and the Judiciary). It further defines "scam compound" as a physical installation where a significant transnational criminal organization conducts cyber-enabled fraud operations using victims of human trafficking and forced criminality (i.e., forced labor to commit crimes such as online scams); "cyber-enabled fraud" as internet- or technology-based fraud to obtain money, property, data, or counterfeit goods; "enabling country" as one permitting scam operations through government inaction or inadequate laws; "impacted country" as a major source, transit point, or target of related trafficking or fraud; and "significant transnational criminal organization" as a group spanning at least two foreign states (or one foreign state and the U.S.) posing risks to U.S. national security, foreign policy, or economy. The section cross-references Trafficking Victims Protection Act definitions (22 U.S.C. 7102) for "forced labor," "human trafficking," and "human trafficking victim"; defines "Strategy" as the counter-scam strategy required under section 4 and "relevant foreign assistance programs and diplomatic efforts" as specified U.S.-funded anti-scam programs excluding intelligence activities; and includes a rule of construction limiting these definitions to this Act.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and heads of other federal departments and agencies, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 180 days after enactment, a comprehensive global strategy to counter scam compounds—i.e., operations by significant transnational criminal organizations involving human trafficking, forced criminality, and related money laundering, with prevalence in Southeast Asian countries—and hold such organizations accountable. The strategy must (1) articulate a problem statement on structural vulnerabilities exploited by these organizations; (2) develop lists of enabling countries and impacted countries; (3) identify active executive branch foreign assistance programs and diplomatic efforts addressing scam compounds and related issues; (4) identify required foreign assistance resources and federal obstacles, including coordination challenges; and (5) include objectives, activities, and performance indicators for preventing recruitment fraud and human trafficking (e.g., engaging private sector internet platforms, raising awareness among at-risk populations, urging governments to enforce anti-fraud laws, and sharing information with foreign counterparts), supporting survivors under the Ambassador at Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, enhancing partner government and law enforcement capabilities, using sanctions and visa restrictions against enablers and facilitators, supporting anti-corruption and anti-money laundering efforts, and investigating PRC connections to these organizations. This section specifies that the strategy does not affect or create obligations for U.S. or state criminal, civil, law enforcement, or intelligence activities.

This section establishes an interagency task force, led by the Secretary of State in consultation with the Attorney General, Secretary of the Treasury, and other agency heads, not later than 90 days after submission of the Strategy required under section 4(a). The task force coordinates implementation of the Strategy; conducts regular monitoring and analysis of international scam compound operations (i.e., scam operations run by transnational criminal organizations); tracks progress toward the Strategy's objectives, activities, and performance indicators; and updates the Strategy as needed in consultation with congressional committees. Not later than one year after its establishment, and annually thereafter, the Secretaries of State and the Attorney General must conduct a status review of the Strategy and scam compounds operated by significant transnational criminal organizations—including lists of enabling countries and impacted countries—and submit the results in a public report to congressional committees (which may include a classified annex). The task force terminates six years after its establishment date.

This section authorizes the President, beginning 180 days after enactment, to impose blocking sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA; 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) on foreign persons determined to have materially assisted, provided significant financial/technological support or goods/services to, owned, controlled, directed, or acted on behalf of significant scam compound operations or enabling services involving recruitment fraud, human trafficking (including forced criminality), cyber-enabled fraud, or money laundering—including, as appropriate, vessels beneficially owned by such persons. The section further (1) directs implementation via IEEPA authorities (50 U.S.C. 1702, 1704) with penalties under IEEPA section 206 (50 U.S.C. 1705); (2) exempts U.S. intelligence/law enforcement activities and importation of goods; (3) requires semiannual reports to congressional committees identifying sanctioned persons and imposition dates, beginning 180 days after enactment; and (4) authorizes national interest waivers with reports to congressional committees at least 15 days prior.

This section directs the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and heads of other appropriate federal departments and agencies, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 90 days after the date of enactment, a report assessing existing forfeiture law that (1) outlines challenges or limitations to providing financial redress to victims of international scam compound operations; (2) offers recommendations to amend existing forfeiture law to enable the Department of Justice to use assets forfeited from law enforcement activities targeting such operations to provide financial redress to U.S. citizen victims; and (3) offers recommendations for administering such a redress mechanism.