Title 18, Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-102
§1518 Obstruction of Criminal Investigations of Health Care Offenses
Title 18 › PART I — CRIMES › CHAPTER 73 — OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE › § 1518
Summary
Knowingly blocking or delaying information or records about a federal health‑care offense from an investigator can bring a fine or up to 5 years in prison. Criminal investigator — person authorized by a U.S. department, agency or armed force.
Full Legal Text
Title 18, §1518
Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Whoever willfully prevents, obstructs, misleads, delays or attempts to prevent, obstruct, mislead, or delay the communication of information or records relating to a violation of a Federal health care offense to a criminal investigator shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
(b)As used in this section the term “criminal investigator” means any individual duly authorized by a department, agency, or armed force of the United States to conduct or engage in investigations for prosecutions for violations of health care offenses.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
18 U.S.C. § 1518
Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102