Title 15Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73

§714m Crimes and offenses

Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 15— - ECONOMIC RECOVERY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION › § 714m

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Makes it a crime to lie or to overvalue securities to influence the Commodity Credit Corporation or to get money or property from it. It is also a crime to steal, take, hide, or misuse money, securities, or other property tied to the Corporation; to put false entries in books or reports or issue false orders to cheat the Corporation; or to conspire with others to do any of these things. A conviction can bring a fine up to $10,000, imprisonment up to five years, or both. If the stolen property is worth more than $500 the same maximum penalty applies. If the property is $500 or less, the penalty is a fine up to $1,000, imprisonment up to one year, or both. General U.S. criminal laws apply to the Corporation, its property, contracts, employees, and operations, except where they overlap with the crimes above. Sections 431 and 432 of title 18 do not apply to the kinds of contracts the Corporation may make with farmers. No one may use the words "Commodity Credit Corporation" in a business name. Using that name in a business is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000, imprisonment up to one year, or both.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §714m

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whoever makes any statement knowing it to be false, or whoever willfully overvalues any security, for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of the Corporation, or for the purpose of obtaining for himself or another, money, property, or anything of value, under this subchapter, or under any other Act applicable to the Corporation, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment by not more than five years, or both.
(b)Whoever, being connected in any capacity with the Corporation or any of its programs, (i) embezzles, abstracts, purloins, or willfully misapplies any money, funds, securities, or other things of value, whether belonging to the Corporation or pledged or otherwise entrusted to it; or (ii) with intent to defraud the Corporation, or any other body, politic or corporate, or any individual, or to deceive any officer, auditor, or examiner of the Corporation, makes any false entry in any book, report, or statement of, or to, the Corporation, or draws any order, or issues, puts forth or assigns any note or other obligation or draft, mortgage, judgment, or decree thereof; or (iii) with intent to defraud the Corporation, participates or shares in, or receives directly or indirectly any money, profit, property, or benefits through any transaction, loan, commission, contract, or any other act of the Corporation, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.
(c)Whoever shall willfully steal, conceal, remove, dispose of, or convert to his own use or to that of another any property owned or held by, or mortgaged or pledged to, the Corporation, or any property mortgaged or pledged as security for any promissory note, or other evidence of indebtedness, which the Corporation has guaranteed or is obligated to purchase upon tender, shall, upon conviction thereof, if such property be of an amount or value in excess of $500, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, and, if such property be of an amount or value of $500 or less, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
(d)Whoever conspires with another to accomplish any of the acts made unlawful by the preceding provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the same fine or imprisonment, or both, as is applicable in the case of conviction for doing such unlawful acts.
(e)All the general penal statutes relating to crimes and offenses against the United States shall apply with respect to the Corporation, its property, money, contracts and agreements, employees, and operations: Provided, That such general penal statutes shall not apply to the extent that they relate to crimes and offenses punishable under subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section: Provided further, That section 431 and 432 of title 18 shall not apply to contracts or agreements of a kind which the Corporation may enter into with farmers participating in a program of the Corporation.
(f)No individual, association, partnership, or corporation shall use the words “Commodity Credit Corporation” or any combination of the same, as the name or a part thereof under which he or it shall do or purport to do business. Every individual, partnership, association, or corporation violating this prohibition shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification In subsec. (e), “section 431 and 432 of title 18” substituted for “section 114 and 115 of the Act of
March 4, 1909, as amended (18 U.S.C., 1940 edition, 204, 205)” on authority of act
June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 683, the first section of which enacted Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

Amendments

1956—Subsec. (c). Act Aug. 1, 1956, made it an offense to willfully steal or convert property mortgaged or pledged to a lending agency under a program of the Corporation and prescribed punishment not exceeding $1,000 fine or one year imprisonment or both in the case of property of an amount or value of $500 or less. 1949—Subsec. (f). Act June 7, 1949, added subsec. (f).

Executive Documents

Exceptions From

Transfer of Functions

For exception of functions of corporations of Department of Agriculture from

Transfer of Functions

to Secretary of Agriculture by Reorg. Plan No. 2 of 1953, see Exceptions From

Transfer of Functions

note set out under section 712a of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 714m

Title 15Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73