2004 Minnesota Statutes

     299A.68 Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force. 

    Subdivision 1.    Task force established.  The Minnesota 
 Financial Crimes Task Force is established to investigate major 
 financial crimes.  Local law enforcement agencies, federal law 
 enforcement agencies, and state and federal prosecutor's offices 
 may join the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force, subject to 
 the provisions of this section. 

    Subd. 2.    Task force's duties.  (a) The task force 
 shall investigate consumer identity theft cases and reported 
 financial crimes from individuals and businesses that are 
 victims of such crimes.  

    (b) The task force shall focus on financial crimes 
 including, but not limited to, statewide crimes such as:  theft, 
 fraud, and forgery crimes, including identity theft, check 
 forgery, fraud in obtaining credit, financial transaction card 
 fraud, theft from merchants, possession or sale of stolen or 
 counterfeit checks, issuance of dishonored checks, creation or 
 use of counterfeit state identification, obtaining counterfeit 
 state identification, fraudulent Internet transactions, 
 fraudulent merchandise returns, investment fraud, insurance 
 fraud, vehicle insurance fraud, financial institution fraud, 
 fraud related to state or federal programs, tax fraud, mail and 
 wire fraud, and other related financial crimes.  

    (c) In particular, the task force shall investigate 
 individuals and organizations, based on their criminal activity, 
 that: 

    (1) commit multiple, cross-jurisdictional, financial 
 crimes; 

    (2) employ computers and other sophisticated technology to 
 counterfeit documents or commit fraud; or 

    (3) illegally obtain consumer information for identity 
 theft. 

    Subd. 3.    Role of participating agencies.  (a) The 
 agencies that participate in the statewide Financial Crimes Task 
 Force shall oversee the task force's operation by establishing 
 procedures and guidelines in an agreement.  The agreement must 
 be addressed in a memorandum of understanding and signed by the 
 person in charge of each participating agency of government.  
 The memorandum of understanding must address the following: 

    (1) the command structure of the task force; 

    (2) acquisition and liquidation of equipment, office space, 
 and transportation; 

    (3) procedures for contracting for necessary administrative 
 support; 

    (4) selection and assignment of members; 

    (5) transfer of task force members; 

    (6) resolution of disputes between participating agencies; 

    (7) requirements and procedures for all workers' 
 compensation and other liability to remain the responsibility of 
 each member's employing agency; 

    (8) disposition of assets and debts if the task force is 
 disbanded; and 

    (9) all other issues deemed pertinent by the participating 
 agencies. 

    (b) Federal law enforcement agencies participating in the 
 task force must be signatories to the memorandum of 
 understanding.  Federal law enforcement agencies and officers 
 participating in the task force may not participate in the 
 selection of the statewide commander or receive any funding for 
 agents' salaries, benefits, or overtime. 

    Subd. 4.    Statewide commander.  The participating 
 local agencies shall select a commander to direct the task 
 force.  The commander shall make tactical decisions regarding 
 the commencement, continuation, and conclusion of investigations 
 of crimes in consultation with agencies participating in the 
 task force.  The commander shall also report annually to the 
 commissioner of public safety as required in subdivision 10. 

    Subd. 5.    Members; employment status.  All law 
 enforcement officers selected to join the task force must be 
 licensed peace officers under section 626.84, subdivision 1, or 
 qualified federal law enforcement officers as defined in section 
 626.8453.  Members remain employees of the same entity that 
 employed them before joining the task force.  Compensation, 
 personnel evaluations, grievances, merit increases, and 
 liability insurance coverage, such as general, personal, 
 vehicle, and professional liability insurance, must be covered 
 by each member's employing agency.  Members of the Financial 
 Crimes Task Force are not employees of the state. 

    Subd. 6.    Jurisdiction and powers.  Law enforcement 
 officers who are members of the task force have statewide 
 jurisdiction to conduct criminal investigations into financial 
 crimes as described in subdivision 2. 

    Officers assigned to the Financial Crimes Task Force shall 
 follow their county arrest procedures, booking processes, 
 reporting processes, county attorney charging requirements, and 
 appropriate notification protocols to local and county sheriff 
 agencies where arrests are made and search warrants executed.  
 The commander of the task force is responsible for ensuring 
 compliance with applicable local practices and procedures. 

    Subd. 6a.    Regional offices.  The commander, as 
 funding permits, may establish seven regional offices of the 
 task force to investigate financial crimes throughout the state 
 and the regional areas.  The regional offices must originally be 
 established based on current state judicial districts, with one 
 regional office covering the First, Second, Fourth, and Tenth 
 Judicial Districts.  The commander must establish a separate 
 regional office in each of the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, 
 Eighth, and Ninth Judicial Districts.  The regional offices must 
 be composed of participating agencies from each of the 
 designated geographic areas.  In consultation with the 
 commander, the participating agencies of each regional office 
 must select a supervisor to direct the office.  The regional 
 office supervisors must report to the commander.  If necessary, 
 the advisory committee established in subdivision 8 may modify 
 the geographic boundary of a regional office. 

    Subd. 7.    Collaboration with other prosecutorial and law 
 enforcement offices.  To the greatest degree possible, the 
 task force shall cooperate and collaborate with existing 
 prosecutorial offices and law enforcement agencies. 

    Subd. 8.    Budget; advisory committee; fund allocation 
 and use.  (a) The statewide commander shall establish an 
 operational budget and present it to an advisory committee for 
 approval.  Grants awarded to participating local agencies must 
 be approved by the advisory committee.  The advisory committee 
 must be composed of the statewide commander, a county attorney 
 from the metro area, a county attorney from greater Minnesota, 
 and the three chiefs of police or sheriffs from the local law 
 enforcement agencies that have the longest continuous 
 participation in the task force.  The committee shall appoint a 
 chair from among its members.  The statewide commander must not 
 be the chair of the committee.  The committee may adopt 
 procedures to govern its conduct if necessary.  A committee 
 member may appoint a designee to take the member's place.  The 
 advisory committee shall oversee and select a fiscal agent 
 qualified to handle financial accounting of task force funding.  
 The task force shall be assigned an originating reporting number 
 for case tracking and reporting purposes. 

    (b) A participating local agency may seek a grant for 
 reimbursement for the time and resources that a peace officer, 
 investigator, detective, prosecutor, and administrative staff 
 dedicate to the task force, or for any other task force-related 
 purposes as described in paragraph (d).  In order to receive a 
 grant under this subdivision, a participating local agency must 
 provide a 20 percent match in nonstate funds or in-kind 
 contributions either directly from its budget or from businesses 
 directly donating support.  A participating employee shall 
 remain an employee of the contributing agency. 

    (c) For purposes of this subdivision, an "in-kind 
 contribution" means any asset contribution or personnel costs 
 not funded by this section, including office supplies, 
 furniture, office space, computers, software, equipment, 
 surveillance tools, and personnel benefits.  It also includes 
 contributions from federal agencies, businesses, nonprofit 
 organizations, individuals, or legal entities used for general 
 operations support and not directed toward the case of a 
 particular victim or business. 

    (d) Task force funds may be used for any task force-related 
 purpose including salaries, overtime, administration, office 
 costs, law enforcement equipment, computers, software, vehicle 
 expenses, travel, and training. 

    (e) The commissioner shall transfer all funds to the task 
 force from financial contributions and grants designated to the 
 task force for the purposes described in this section. 

    Subd. 9.    Forfeiture.  Property seized by the task 
 force is subject to forfeiture pursuant to sections 609.531, 
 609.5312, 609.5313, and 609.5315 if ownership cannot be 
 established.  The task force shall receive the proceeds from the 
 sale of all property that it properly seizes and that is 
 forfeited. 

    Subd. 10.    Required reports.  Beginning July 1, 2003, 
 the commander of the task force shall report annually to the 
 commissioner on the activities of the task force. 

    Subd. 11.    Task force is permanent.  Notwithstanding 
 section 15.059, this section does not expire. 

    Subd. 12.    Matching federal dollars.  The task force 
 may accept grants or contributions from any federal source or 
 legal business or entity.  

    HIST: 1Sp2001 c 8 art 5 s 5; 2003 c 36 s 1