/Creates New 10 Year Securities Fraud Felony: Currently prosecutors are forced to use criminal laws either not specifically written for securities fraud or overly technical and with weaker penalties. Creates a new crime for any "scheme or artifice" to defraud shareholders.

/Enhances Fraud and Obstruction of Justice Sentences: Directs U.S. Sentencing Commission to raise penalties in obstruction of justice cases where evidence is destroyed and in fraud cases where there are many victims or where any victim is financially devastated.

/Empowers State A.G.’s and SEC to Enforce Racketeering Law: Gives State A.G.’s and the SEC, who are on the front lines in fighting fraud, a powerful new weapon by empowering them to bring civil RICO cases with triple damages.

/Establishes New Felony Anti-Shredding Provision: Creates new 5 year crime to close loopholes in current obstruction of justice offenses. The destruction of evidence to obstruct an investigation is made illegal whether or not shredding occurs when records are under subpoena.

/Encourages Witnesses to Report Fraud to Authorities: Protects corporate employees who blow the whistle on fraud. As shown by the Enron case, these insiders are often the only witnesses that can prove what the criminals knew and when they knew it.

/Preserves Audit Documents for 5 Years: Sets a clear requirement to preserve financial audit documents for five years (the statute of limitations for most federal crimes) and creates a new 5 year felony for intentionally destroying such documents.

/Creates New Protections for Corporate Whistleblowers: Gives corporate whistle blowers an effective remedy in federal court if they are retaliated against, freeing them from dependence on a patchwork of state laws.

/Lengthens Statute of Limitations In Fraud Cases: Ends current system that rewards fraud artists who can conceal their crimes for three years. Follows advice of recent SEC chairmen from both parties (Breeden and Levitt) to give victims 5 years to bring their fraud cases.

/Allows Fraud Victims to Recover in Bankruptcy: Prevents securities law violators from using bankruptcy to shield debts based on fraud judgments and settlements from their victims.