Approval of bond or sureties by postmaster
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
Whoever, being a postmaster, affixes his signature to the approval of any bond of a bidder, or to the certificate of sufficiency of sureties in any contract, before the said bond or contract is signed by the bidder or contractor and his sureties, or knowingly, or without the exercise of due diligence, approves any bond of a bidder with insufficient sureties, or knowingly makes any false or fraudulent certificate, shall be or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and shall be dismissed from office and disqualified from holding the office of postmaster.
History: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 785 (PDF, 39 MB); Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(K), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147 (PDF, 52 MB).)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime for a postmaster to approve a bidder's bond or certify sureties (people who guarantee a contract) before the bond or contract is signed. It is also a crime to knowingly or carelessly approve a bond backed by insufficient sureties, or to knowingly make a false certificate.