Bill would create Consumer Protection Restitution Account to pay victims when defendants or businesses have no recoverable assets

Senate File 447, authored by Sen. John Rest, would create a Consumer Protection Restitution Account in the Attorney General’s office to pay restitution to consumers in civil consumer enforcement cases when the defendant cannot be located, is insolvent or otherwise cannot satisfy a court‑ordered restitution award.

The proposal directs half of certain money recovered by the Attorney General in consumer enforcement actions that would otherwise go to the general fund to be deposited into the restitution account, subject to an annual distribution cap of $1 million. The account would be used only to pay restitution ordered by a court where the plaintiff‑consumers would otherwise receive no recovery because the defendant lacks assets or cannot be located. The bill also requires the Attorney General to publish an annual report disclosing money going into and out of the account and to limit administrative costs to 3% of receipts.

AARP Minnesota described the proposal as a response to growing fraud losses and said the fund would (1) incentivize victims to report scams to law enforcement, (2) incentivize the Attorney General to bring consumer cases, and (3) provide monetary relief to victims in cases where defendants are unreachable or insolvent. Thomas Elnis, AARP state advocacy director, identified fraud as a fast‑growing industry targeting Minnesotans.

Multiple victims testified about personal losses. Dennis Anderson described losing $20,000 in a grandparent/immigrant scam and the emotional toll of the loss. Helene Johnson described losing approximately $15,000 to a dentist who later had his license revoked and the business closed and declared bankruptcy. Jessica Whitney, Deputy Attorney General for Consumer Protection, said the office supports the bill because it fills a current gap: victims of some frauds cannot access criminal‑victim funds and civil enforcement often yields no recoverable assets.

Committee actions: The committee adopted the author’s A2 and A4 amendments and then voted to recommend the bill as amended and to refer it to the State and Local Government Committee. Senators discussed retroactivity questions (the bill contains a tax‑subtraction provision effective retroactive to Dec. 30, 2023), the size of potential receipts and the cap on annual distributions.

Provisions cited during testimony include reporting requirements, a 3% cap on administrative costs and limits on private rights of action related to fund administration.