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

Summary

If an officer or any person who is legally responsible for keeping public money safe takes, lends, uses, turns into something else, deposits (including in branches or agencies of foreign banks), or exchanges any of that money without the law allowing it, they have improperly taken the money. They can be fined under federal law or fined an amount equal to the money taken—whichever is larger—and may be sent to prison for up to 10 years, or both. If the amount taken is $1,000 or less, the fine or jail time is up to 1 year, or both.

Title 18, §648

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whoever, being an officer or other person charged by any Act of Congress with the safe-keeping of the public moneys, loans, uses, or converts to his own use, or deposits in any bank, including any branch or agency of a foreign bank (as such terms are defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978), or exchanges for other funds, except as specially allowed by law, any portion of the public moneys intrusted to him for safe-keeping, is guilty of embezzlement of the money so loaned, used, converted, deposited, or exchanged, and shall be fined under this title or in a sum equal to the amount of money so embezzled, whichever is greater, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; but if the amount embezzled 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

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 175 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 89, 35 Stat. 1105). Mandatory punishment provision was rephrased in the alternative. The smaller punishment for an offense involving $100 or less was inserted. (See reviser’s notes under section 641 and 645 of this title.) Minor changes in phraseology were made.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978, referred to in text, is classified to section 3101 of Title 12, Banks and Banking.

Amendments

1996—Pub. L. 104–294 substituted “$1,000” for “$100”. 1994—Pub. L. 103–322, § 330016(2)(G), substituted “shall be fined under this title or in a sum equal to the amount of money so embezzled, whichever is greater, or imprisoned” for “shall be fined in a sum equal to the amount of money so embezzled or imprisoned”. Pub. L. 103–322, § 330016(1)(H), substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000” after “he shall be”. 1990—Pub. L. 101–647 inserted “, including any branch or agency of a foreign bank (as such terms are defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978),” after “or deposits in any bank”.

§648 Custodians, Generally, Misusing Public Funds