The U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Capital Markets Subcommittee held a hearing to examine securities fraud and financial exploitation, assess the effectiveness of existing enforcement tools, and identify gaps that could undermine market integrity and investor confidence. In opening remarks prepared for delivery, Subcommittee Chairman Ann Wagner framed the session around rising losses from investment scams and the expanding role of technology and cross-border actors. Wagner cited that in 2024 investment scams accounted for nearly half of USD 12 billion lost by Americans to financial exploitation, a 24% increase from the prior year. She highlighted common schemes including pump-and-dump activity, brokerage account takeovers, fraud coordinated through social media and encrypted messaging, spoofed broker-dealer websites, and artificial intelligence-enabled voice and video fakes, alongside overseas scam centers operating beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement. The remarks also referenced “ramp-and-dump” schemes involving Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges, and pointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission under Chairman Atkins using the Commission’s Cross-Border Task Force to target malicious foreign actors.
U.S. Financial Services Committee 2026-04-15
U.S. House Financial Services Committee holds Capital Markets Subcommittee hearing on securities fraud and financial exploitation
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Capital Markets Subcommittee held a hearing on securities fraud and financial exploitation, assessing enforcement tools and gaps that could threaten market integrity and investor confidence. Subcommittee Chairman Ann Wagner cited a 24% year-on-year rise in U.S. financial exploitation losses to USD 12 billion in 2024, driven largely by investment scams, account takeovers, social media and encrypted messaging fraud, spoofed broker-dealer websites, AI-enabled fakes, and overseas scam centers. She also noted the SEC’s use of its Cross-Border Task Force to pursue foreign actors.