§1025 — Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

It makes it a crime to trick or lie to someone on waters or on a vessel that falls under U.S. maritime jurisdiction to get money, property, or a person’s signature on financial papers. That includes getting people to sign or hand over bonds, checks, promissory notes, drafts, receipts, or other IOUs, or selling those things knowing they are worthless or signed because of a lie. The punishment is a fine, up to 5 years in prison, or both. If the amount or face value taken is $1,000 or less, the punishment is a fine, up to 1 year in prison, or both.

Title 18, §1025

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whoever, upon any waters or vessel within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, by any fraud, or false pretense, obtains from any person anything of value, or procures the execution and delivery of any instrument of writing or conveyance of real or personal property, or the signature of any person, as maker, endorser, or guarantor, to or upon any bond, bill, receipt, promissory note, draft, or check, or any other evidence of indebtedness, or fraudulently sells, barters, or disposes of any bond, bill, receipt, promissory note, draft, or check, or other evidence of indebtedness, for value, knowing the same to be worthless, or knowing the signature of the maker, endorser, or guarantor thereof to have been obtained by any false pretenses, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both; but if the amount, value or the face value of anything so obtained does not exceed $1,000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

1948 ActBased on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 467a (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 288A, as added Aug. 5, 1939, ch. 434, 53 Stat. 1205). Words “upon any waters or vessel within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States” were substituted for “upon the high seas or on any waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State, or within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State on board any vessel belonging in whole or in part to the United States or any citizen thereof or to any corporation created by or under the laws of the United States, or of any State, Territory, or District thereof”, near beginning of section. The deleted words are not necessary in view of definitive section 7 of this title. Words “whatsoever with intent to defraud” were omitted as being included in the preceding term “false pretenses”. The punishment provision was revised to include a misdemeanor punishment (not more than $1,000 or one year, or both) where the offense involves $100 or less. (See reviser’s notes under section 641 and 645 of this title.) 1949 ActThis section [section 22] corrects a typographical error in section 1025 of title 18, U.S.C.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1996—Pub. L. 104–294 substituted “$1,000” for “$100”. 1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000” after “pretenses, shall be” and for “fined not more than $1,000” after “he shall be”. 1949—Act May 24, 1949, corrected spelling of “pretense”.

§1025 False pretenses on high seas and other waters