Title 21, Food and DrugsRelease 119-110

§2403 Criminal Penalties and Statute of Limitations

Title 21 › CHAPTER 29 — INTERNATIONAL SPORTS DOPING › § 2403

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Violating the law in section 2402 can lead to up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 for a person or $1,000,000 for a business, or both. The government can also seize and keep any property that was used to help commit the crime or that came from the crime. Charges must be filed within 10 years after the offense is finished. If the United States asks the court before filing charges and says key evidence is in another country, the court can pause that 10-year time limit if it finds, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not), that an official request was made and the evidence is or was in that foreign country.

Full Legal Text

Title 21, §2403

Food and Drugs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

(1)Criminal penalty

Whoever violates section 2402 of this title shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for not more than 10 years, fined $250,000 if the person is an individual or $1,000,000 if the defendant is other than an individual, or both.

(2)Forfeiture

Any property real or personal, tangible or intangible, may be seized and criminally forfeited to the United States if that property—

(A)is used or intended to be used, in any manner, to commit or facilitate a violation of section 2402 of this title; or

(B)constitutes or is traceable to the proceeds taken, obtained, or retained in connection with or as a result of a violation of section 2402 of this title.

(b)Limitation on prosecution

(1)In general

No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for violation of section 2402 of this title unless the indictment is returned or the information is filed within 10 years after the date on which the offense was completed.

(2)Tolling

Upon application in the United States, filed before a return of an indictment, indicating that evidence of an offense under this chapter is in a foreign country, the district court before which a grand jury is impaneled to investigate the offense shall suspend the running of this statute of limitation for the offense if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that an official request has been made for such evidence and that it reasonably appears, or reasonably appeared at the time the request was made, that such evidence is, or was, in such foreign country.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

21 U.S.C. § 2403

Title 21, Food and Drugs

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110