BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1293
Author: Blumenfield (D)
Amended: 6/28/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 7/5/11
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/31/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Elder abuse: theft or embezzlement
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows the seizing and preservation of
assets of a criminal defendant charged with felony elder or
dependent adult financial abuse.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that where a defendant
is convicted of two or more related felonies involving
fraud or embezzlement, and the pattern of conduct involves
the taking or loss of more than $100,000, the defendant
shall be punished by an "aggravated white collar crime
enhancement" of specified prison enhancement term. The
following applies to such cases:
The enhancement imposed only once in a criminal
CONTINUED
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proceeding.
A "pattern of related felony conduct" means engaging in
at least two felonies that have the same or similar
purpose, result, principals, victims, or methods of
commission, or are otherwise interrelated and are not
isolated events. "Two or more related felonies" are
felonies committed against two or more separate victims
or against the same victim on two or more occasions.
If the crimes involved taking or loss of more than
$500,000, the additional prison term shall be two, three,
or five years.
If the crimes involved taking or loss of between $100,000
and 500,000, the additional prison term shall be one or
two years, as specified. (Penal Code Sections 186.11,
subd. (a)(1)-(3) and 12022.6, subd. (a)(1)-(2).)
Existing law allows the prosecution in a case involving an
aggravated white collar crime enhancement to obtain an
order for the seizing and holding of the defendant's assets
in order to prevent the defendant from hiding or
dissipating the assets. (Penal Code Section 186.11, subd.
(e).)
Existing law provides that a person who claims an interest
in the protected property may file a claim concerning
his/her interest in seized property, as specified. (Penal
Code Section 186.11, subd. (e)(6).)
Existing law provides that the court shall order a
defendant subject to punishment under the white collar
crime provisions to make full restitution to victims. The
court can order the defendant to remain on probation for up
to 10 years in order to ensure payment of restitution. The
provisions for protection of assets seized from defendants
shall remain in effect through sentencing in order to
satisfy fines and restitution orders. (Penal Code Section
186.11, subds. (d) and (i)(1)(A)-(B).)
This bill provides for the preservation of assets and
property by the court of any person charged with felony
elder or dependent financial abuse if that conduct involves
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the taking or loss of $100,000 or more.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/11)
All support to prior version of bill:
AARP
California Police Chiefs Association
California Senior Legislature
Consumer Attorneys of California
Office of the Attorney General
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "Every
year in California, a growing number of senior citizens are
victimized by those who steal the money they worked a
lifetime to save. Prosecuting these cases can be extremely
complex, especially in instances where financial predators
have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"While district attorneys are spending scarce taxpayer
dollars prosecuting these complex cases, the defendants
often are defending themselves in court using the assets
they stole from the elderly victim. Even when cases are
successful, victims are unable to recover their stolen
property if it has been transferred away or spent on
exorbitantly priced defense attorneys working on behalf of
the perpetrator.
"To address this problem, in cases where more than $100,000
has been stolen, Assembly Bill 1293 allows the courts to
freeze the assets of a financial predator to ensure that
the victim is made whole once the defendant has been
convicted. AB 1293 prevents financial predators from
spending down or secreting away stolen assets while they
are at trial."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/31/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
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Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Garrick, Gorell, Halderman
RJG:do 8/16/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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