Certification of checks
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
Whoever, being an officer, director, agent, or employee of any Federal Reserve bank, member bank of the Federal Reserve System, insured bank (as defined in section 3(h) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act), 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 organization operating under section 25 or section 25(a) [1] of the Federal Reserve Act, certifies a check before the amount thereof has been regularly deposited in the bank, branch, agency, or organization, by the drawer thereof, or resorts to any device, or receives any fictitious obligation, directly or collaterally, in order to evade any of the provisions of law relating to certification of checks, shall be or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
History: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 749 (PDF, 39 MB); Pub. L. 101–647, title XXV, §2597(g), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4910 (PDF, 27 MB); Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(K), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147 (PDF, 52 MB).)
1 See References in Text note below.
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime for an officer or employee of a Federal Reserve bank, insured bank, or similar institution to certify a check before the money has actually been deposited. Using tricks or fake obligations to get around check-certification laws is also illegal.