Contractors' bonds, bids, and public records
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
Whoever falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits any bond, bid, proposal, contract, guarantee, security, official bond, public record, affidavit, or other writing for the purpose of defrauding the United States; or
Whoever utters or publishes as true or possesses with intent to utter or publish as true, any such false, forged, altered, or counterfeited writing, knowing the same to be false, forged, altered, or counterfeited; or
Whoever transmits to, or presents at any office or to any officer of the United States, any such false, forged, altered, or counterfeited writing, knowing the same to be false, forged, altered, or counterfeited—
Shall be or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
History: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 711 (PDF, 39 MB); Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(H), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147 (PDF, 52 MB).)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime to forge or alter bonds, bids, contracts, public records, affidavits, or other papers to cheat the United States. It is also a crime to knowingly use, possess to use, or submit such forged papers to a federal office.