Fictitious obligations
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
(a) Whoever, with the intent to defraud—
(1) draws, prints, processes, produces, publishes, or otherwise makes, or or causes the same, within the United States;
(2) passes, utters, presents, offers, brokers, issues, sells, or or causes the same, or with like intent possesses, within the United States; or
(3) utilizes , including the use of the mails or wire, radio, or other electronic communication, to transmit, transport, ship, move, transfer, or or causes the same, to, from, or through the United States,
any false or fictitious instrument, document, or other item appearing, representing, purporting, or contriving through scheme or artifice, to be an actual security or other financial instrument issued under the authority of the United States, a foreign government, a State or other political subdivision of the United States, or an organization, shall be guilty of a class B .
(b)
For purposes of this section, any term used in this section that is defined in section 513(c) has the same meaning given such term in section 513(c).
(c) The United States Secret Service, in addition to any other agency having such authority, shall have authority to investigate offenses under this section.
History: (Added Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, §101(f) [title VI, §648(b)(1)], title II, §2603(b)(1), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–314, 3009–367, 3009–470.)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime, with intent to cheat, to make, pass, sell, possess, or send a fake financial document that pretends to be a real security or financial instrument. This covers fake instruments that claim to be issued by the U.S., a foreign government, a State or local government, or an organization.