A pig-butchering complaint may begin with one victim and one set of cryptocurrency transactions, then expand across states, financial institutions, exchanges, and overseas infrastructure. A bank may see the outgoing transfer while another agency is already investigating a wallet or scam identity tied to the same network.

Section 10901 of the updated CLARITY Act addresses this investigative gap. Known as the GUARD Act, the provision would allow state, local, and Tribal law-enforcement agencies and other eligible grantees to use specified existing federal grant funds for elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and general financial-fraud investigations.

The July 22 text analyzed in this article remains proposed legislation. The Senate did not pass H.R. 3633 before its August state work period. A cloture motion on whether to advance to consideration is scheduled to ripen on September 15, 2026, but that is a procedural step, not final passage, and Section 10901 could still change.

Unlike the previous article’s broader focus on state and local capacity, this article examines how those resources could change a specific class of scam investigation: victim intake, identifier collection, case linkage, and public-private coordination.

Short answer: Section 10901 would give eligible law-enforcement agencies and grantees more flexibility to use specified existing federal grant funds to investigate elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and general financial fraud. It would support personnel, training, blockchain intelligence tools, victim assistance, better reporting, coordination exercises with financial institutions, and designated financial-sector contacts. It would also require several reports intended to improve national visibility into scams, losses, organized-crime involvement, and enforcement results.

What does the CLARITY Act mean by pig butchering?

Section 10901 defines pig butchering as a confidence and investment fraud in which a victim is gradually induced to make increasing monetary contributions, generally in cryptocurrency, to an apparently sound investment before the scammer disappears with the money.

A scammer may first build trust through social media, a dating platform, an unsolicited message, or another online relationship. The victim may be shown a fake investment platform and encouraged to make a small initial contribution. Apparent account gains can create confidence. The requests then increase until the victim attempts to withdraw funds or becomes unable to contribute more.

Cryptocurrency may be the payment and laundering mechanism, but the crime is fundamentally driven by deception and social engineering. Section 10901 separately defines a scam as a financial crime using social engineering and deceptive inducement to obtain authorized access to funds or sensitive information that can facilitate theft.

That distinction matters operationally. An effective investigation may require more than tracing a digital-asset transfer. It can involve:

• Victim communications and account histories
• Bank, payment, exchange, and wallet records
• Fake websites or trading platforms
• Phone numbers, email addresses, and social-media accounts
• Know-your-customer and account-opening information
• Wallet addresses and transaction identifiers
• Other complaints tied to the same personas or infrastructure
• Related investigations in other jurisdictions
• Evidence of overseas actors or organized criminal activity

 

The transaction path is one part of the case. The wider picture can reveal whether the complaint belongs to a connected criminal operation.

What would Section 10901 change?

Section 10901 would not create a single new national pig-butchering investigation unit. It would expand how funds received through specified existing federal grant programs may be used.

State, local, and Tribal law-enforcement agencies and other grantees receiving eligible funds could use them to investigate:

• Elder financial fraud
• Pig butchering
• General financial fraud

 

The bill defines elder financial fraud as the illegal or improper use of the money, property, or other resources of an elderly individual or adult with a disability for monetary or personal benefit, profit, or gain.

General financial fraud would include intentional misrepresentation of information or identity to obtain money or other things of value, unlawful use of payment cards or automated teller machines, and electronic transmission of deceptive information.

The categories can overlap. An older adult targeted through a cryptocurrency investment scheme may experience elder financial fraud, general financial fraud, and pig butchering in the same case.

The proposal would support six parts of investigative readiness

Section 10901’s permitted uses point to an important lesson: financial-fraud readiness is a system, not a software license.

1. Personnel

Eligible funds could support hiring and retaining analysts, agents, experts, and other personnel.

Complex cases require time to interview the victim, preserve communications, obtain records, trace funds, prepare legal processes, compare identifiers, and coordinate with institutions and other agencies.

2. Complex financial-investigation training

The provision would allow eligible funds to support training on:

• Coordination among state, local, Tribal, and federal law enforcement
• Assistance for victims of financial fraud and exploitation
• Blockchain intelligence tools
• Emerging technologies
• Transnational financial investigations
• Other distinctive aspects of fraud cases

 

For a full treatment of the proposed federal curriculum, see Article 3. In scam cases, the practical need is to collect victim information, preserve evidence, identify the institution controlling relevant records, and choose the right legal or referral path.

3. Software and technical tools

Agencies and eligible grantees could obtain software and technical tools for financial-fraud and exploitation investigations.

Blockchain analytics can help trace transaction flows, identify exposure to known services, and develop investigative leads. Other tools may support link analysis, evidence preservation, case management, communications analysis, or data review.

These tools can improve visibility, but they do not automatically identify a related case or the institution holding relevant verified context. Analytics and deconfliction answer different questions.

4. Victim assistance

Section 10901 expressly includes training for personnel who assist victims of financial fraud and exploitation.

Victim interaction is not separate from the investigation. The victim may hold the initial transaction records, communications, screenshots, account details, phone numbers, email addresses, fake-platform URLs, and wallet information needed to identify the network.

Clear, respectful intake can reduce the risk that embarrassment or confusion causes important evidence to be withheld.

5. Data collection and reporting

The bill would permit eligible funds to encourage improved data collection and reporting.

Consistent collection of wallet addresses, transaction hashes, accounts, aliases, communications channels, and institution names can make connections among apparently isolated complaints easier to recognize.

Better data does not mean unrestricted sharing. Financial and investigative information requires legal authority, appropriate controls, verified access, and documentation. The goal is to make useful facts discoverable to authorized participants, not to distribute sensitive information indiscriminately.

6. Public-private coordination

Section 10901 would permit eligible funds to support training and tabletop exercises intended to improve coordination and communication among financial institutions and federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement.

It would also allow an agency or grantee to designate a financial-sector liaison who could serve as a point of contact for financial institutions to exchange information relevant to fraud and scam investigations with law enforcement.

Law enforcement may have the victim statement, communications, suspected wallet addresses, and links to other cases. A bank may understand the fiat transfer and customer history. An exchange or other digital-asset business may hold account records and observe later movement. Another institution may have stopped or reviewed related activity.

A liaison can improve access to the right contact. A shared and controlled intelligence environment can help authorized participants understand whether their information connects to a broader pattern.

Where Deconflict fits

Deconflict provides a shared environment in which authorized law-enforcement and financial-institution users can access Verified Intelligence, identify potentially overlapping activity, and coordinate around relevant crypto cases and indicators.

That can help answer questions that blockchain tracing alone may not resolve:

• Is another authorized organization already working on this wallet or related activity?
• Is there verified investigative context connected to the indicator?
• Which organization may be positioned to coordinate next steps?
• Can useful intelligence reach the appropriate participant before another opportunity is lost?

 

Deconflict does not determine criminality or replace blockchain analytics, legal process, institutional controls, victim reporting, or investigative judgment.

Law-enforcement access is free. Financial institutions can request a demonstration of Deconflict’s Verified Intelligence and coordination capabilities.

Conclusion

Section 10901’s significance is not limited to adding pig butchering to a list of eligible grant uses.

The proposal treats modern fraud as a network problem requiring victim-centered intake, consistent data, technical tools, financial-sector relationships, and cross-agency coordination.

One victim report may contain the wallet, account, persona, or transaction that connects several investigations. That connection only becomes useful when authorized law-enforcement agencies and financial institutions can find it, verify it, and coordinate before the opportunity to act disappears.