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Subcommittee backs bill letting securities division order refunds for investment fraud victims
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Summary
A subcommittee heard and advanced legislation authorizing the state securities division to order restitution to victims in final administrative orders in fraud cases, adding a new tool to pursue returns alongside civil penalties and criminal referral.
A state and local government subcommittee advanced legislation that would give the Georgia Securities Division explicit authority to order refunds to victims in final administrative orders following findings of investment fraud.
Nula Zaharis, assistant commissioner in the Secretary of State’s office, said SB284 would expand remedies for investors by permitting the division, after due process, to require bad actors to return the amounts that victims invested. The bill also preserves the division’s existing civil‑penalty authority, which Zaharis said can reach up to $500,000 in some cases. The sponsor, Senator Walker, was not present and the bill was presented by Zaharis as a surrogate.
"When we talk to our victims … one of the things that they ask us is, ‘Can you help me get my money back?’" Zaharis said, describing roughly 300 active investment‑fraud investigations and multiple multistate matters affecting the committee’s districts. "This bill gives us a way to help you get money back to your constituents who lose it," she told the panel.
Committee members asked how refunds would be enforced if a respondent lacked assets. Zaharis said the Securities Division could request the state attorney general’s office to seek a superior‑court order to enforce administrative orders and attempt to recover funds. Christine Hurd, the division’s senior enforcement attorney, provided legal background on enforcement processes and hearing protections for respondents.
Representative Bridal asked who would pay a restitution order; Zaharis said the bad actor found to have violated fraud provisions would be ordered to return funds and that negotiated settlements sometimes focus on returning money to investors rather than levying fines. The division already has authority to seek civil penalties and can pursue criminal referrals to local prosecutors.
After a brief question period, the subcommittee voted to move SB284 forward; the chair recorded a do‑pass recommendation to be considered by the full committee.
The bill’s text as presented adds provisions enabling restitution orders in final administrative rulings for securities fraud; the measure’s proponents said it would give victims an additional avenue to recover losses but does not itself create a new criminal cause of action.
