Taking or using papers relating to claims
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
Whoever, without authority, takes and carries away from the place where it was filed, deposited, or kept by authority of the United States, any certificate, affidavit, deposition, statement of facts, power of attorney, receipt, voucher, assignment, or other document, record, file, or paper prepared, fitted, or intended to be used or presented to procure the payment of money from or by the United States or any officer, employee, or agent thereof, or the allowance or payment of the whole or any part of any claim, account, or demand against the United States, whether the same has or has not already been so used or presented, and whether such claim, account, or demand, or any part thereof has or has not already been allowed or paid; or
Whoever presents, uses, or to use any such document, record, file, or paper so taken and carried away, to procure the payment of any money from or by the United States, or any officer, employee, or agent thereof, or the allowance or payment of the whole or any part of any claim, account, or demand against the United States—
Shall be or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
History: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 698 (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 to take, without permission, any document filed or kept by the U.S. government that is meant to be used to get money from the government or support a claim against it. It is also a crime to use or try to use such a taken document to get payment from the government.