Malliotakis Celebrates House Passage of Bipartisan Legislation to Crack Down on Check Fraud
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis celebrates the passage of her legislation, H.R. 1155 Recovery of Stolen Checks Act. This bipartisan Ways & Means legislation was introduced alongside Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Congressman David Kustoff (R-TN).
This bill directs the U.S. Department of the Treasury to establish procedures allowing eligible taxpayers to elect direct deposit for receiving the replacement of a lost or stolen federal tax refund originally issued by paper check. Under current law, replacement refunds are typically reissued as another paper check—a process that has cost taxpayers millions of dollars due to repeated theft of reissued checks.
"It's deeply unfortunate that for years seniors and hard working taxpayers have faced unnecessary hardship and stress after having their tax refund checks stolen in the mail," said Rep. Malliotakis. "My constituents have been forced to wait months for replacements—wasting valuable time and delaying critical access to funds they rely on to make ends meet. Today, I’m proud that the House of Representatives took action and passed my bipartisan, commonsense legislation to address this issue. By restoring fiscal responsibility and ensuring taxpayers receive the payments they rely on in a timely manner, we send a strong message to fraudsters. I urge the Senate to act quickly so this bill can be sent to President Trump’s desk and signed into law."
“Thanks to the leadership of members like Representative Malliotakis, the Ways and Means Committee is at the forefront of combating fraud and protecting taxpayers. This bill is a commonsense solution to a growing and costly problem – one that has plagued communities across this country. It will ensure victims of fraud get the relief they are owed sooner rather than later and help combat the ability of criminals to take advantage of the same victims again and again,” said Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith.
Malliotakis' district has been hit hard by postal fraud, with 376 IRS checks stolen and fraudulently cashed totaling nearly $5.4 million in loss to constituents. Check amounts have ranged from a few hundred dollars up to $500,000, with multiple constituents needing their checks reissued four times before they were received. It has been reported that approximately 40,000 IRS checks were stolen nationally in 2024, up from just 100 in 2022, and the value stolen has been approximately $1 billion.
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