Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73
§1421 Accounts of court officers
Title 18 › Part PART I— - CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 69— - NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP › § 1421
Summary
Clerks, assistant clerks, or anyone legally in charge of keeping accounts or handling money from court cases about citizenship, naturalization, or alien registration must give honest accounts and pay any money owed to the United States. If they willfully fail to do this within 30 days after the money is due and a demand has been made, they can be fined under federal law, jailed for up to 5 years, or both.
Full Legal Text
Title 18, §1421
Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Whoever, being a clerk or assistant clerk of a court, or other person charged by law with a duty to render true accounts of moneys received in any proceeding relating to citizenship, naturalization, or registration of aliens or to pay over any balance of such moneys due to the United States, willfully neglects to do so within thirty days after said payment shall become due and demand therefor has been made, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on subsections (a)(34), (d) and (l) of section 746 of title 8, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Aliens and Nationality (Oct. 14, 1940, ch. 876, § 346(a)(34), (d), (l), 54 Stat. 1167, 1168). Minor changes in phraseology only were made.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
18 U.S.C. § 1421
Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73