2001 US Code
Title 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 14A - AID TO SMALL BUSINESS
Sec. 645 - Offenses and penalties

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§645. Offenses and penalties (a) False statements; overvaluation of securities

Whoever makes any statement knowing it to be false, or whoever willfully overvalues any security, for the purpose of obtaining for himself or for any applicant any loan, or extension thereof by renewal, deferment of action, or otherwise, or the acceptance, release, or substitution of security therefor, or for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of the Administration, or for the purpose of obtaining money, property, or anything of value, under this chapter, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ,000 or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or both.

(b) Embezzlement, etc.

Whoever, being connected in any capacity with the Administration, (1) embezzles, abstracts, purloins, or willfully misapplies any moneys, funds, securities, or other things of value, whether belonging to it or pledged or otherwise entrusted to it, or (2) with intent to defraud the Administration or any other body politic or corporate, or any individual, or to deceive any officer, auditor, or examiner of the Administration, makes any false entry in any book, report, or statement of or to the Administration, or, without being duly authorized, draws any order or issues, puts forth, or assigns any note, debenture, bond, or other obligation, or draft, bill of exchange, mortgage, judgment, or decree thereof, or (3) with intent to defraud participates or shares in or receives directly or indirectly any money, profit, property, or benefit through any transaction, loan, commission, contract, or any other act of the Administration, or (4) gives any unauthorized information concerning any future action or plan of the Administration which might affect the value of securities, or, having such knowledge, invests or speculates, directly or indirectly, in the securities or property of any company or corporation receiving loans or other assistance from the Administration, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

(c) Concealment, etc.

Whoever, with intent to defraud, knowingly conceals, removes, disposes of, or converts to his own use or to that of another, any property mortgaged or pledged to, or held by, the Administration, shall be fined not more than ,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both; but if the value of such property does not exceed 0, he shall be fined not more than ,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(d) Misrepresentation, etc.

(1) Whoever misrepresents the status of any concern or person as a “small business concern”, a “qualified HUBZone small business concern”, a “small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals”, or a “small business concern owned and controlled by women”, in order to obtain for oneself or another any—

(A) prime contract to be awarded pursuant to section 638, 644, or 657a of this title;

(B) subcontract to be awarded pursuant to section 637(a) of this title;

(C) subcontract that is to be included as part or all of a goal contained in a subcontracting plan required pursuant to section 637(d) of this title; or

(D) prime or subcontract to be awarded as a result, or in furtherance, of any other provision of Federal law that specifically references section 637(d) of this title for a definition of program eligibility,1 shall be subject to the penalties and remedies described in paragraph (2).

(2) Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall—

(A) be punished by a fine of not more than 0,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both;

(B) be subject to the administrative remedies prescribed by the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (31 U.S.C. 3801–3812);

(C) be subject to suspension and debarment as specified in subpart 9.4 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation) on the basis that such misrepresentation indicates a lack of business integrity that seriously and directly affects the present responsibility to perform any contract awarded by the Federal Government or a subcontract under such a contract; and

(D) be ineligible for participation in any program or activity conducted under the authority of this chapter or the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 661 et seq.) for a period not to exceed 3 years.

(e) Representations under subsection (d) of this section to be in writing

Any representation of the status of any concern or person as a “small business concern”, a “HUBZone small business concern”, a “small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals”, or a “small business concern owned and controlled by women” in order to obtain any prime contract or subcontract enumerated in subsection (d) of this section shall be in writing.

(f) Misrepresentation of compliance with section 636(j)(10)(I)

Whoever falsely certifies past compliance with the requirements of section 636(j)(10)(I) of this title shall be subject to the penalties prescribed in subsection (d) of this section.

(Pub. L. 85–536, §2[16], July 18, 1958, 72 Stat. 395; Pub. L. 88–264, §2, Feb. 5, 1964, 78 Stat. 8; Pub. L. 99–272, title XVIII, §18009, Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 368; Pub. L. 100–656, title IV, §405, Nov. 15, 1988, 102 Stat. 3875; Pub. L. 103–355, title VII, §7106(c), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3376; Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title X, §1073(g)(4), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1906; Pub. L. 105–135, title VI, §603(c), Dec. 2, 1997, 111 Stat. 2632.)

References in Text

The Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (31 U.S.C. 3801–3812), referred to in subsec. (d)(2)(B), is subtitle B of title VI of Pub. L. 99–509, Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1934, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 38 (§3801 et seq.) of Title 31, Money and Finance. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3801 of Title 31 and Tables.

The Small Business Investment Act of 1958, referred to in subsec. (d)(2)(D), is Pub. L. 85–699, Aug. 21, 1958, 72 Stat. 689, as amended, which is classified principally to chapter 14B (§661 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 661 of this title and Tables.

Prior Provisions

Prior similar provisions were contained in section 209 of act July 30, 1953, ch. 282, title II, 67 Stat. 237, which was previously classified to section 638 of this title. The provisions of section 216 of act July 30, 1953, formerly classified to this section, were transferred to section 2[8] of Pub. L. 85–536, which was classified to section 637(c) of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 102–191. See section 656 of this title.

Amendments

1997—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 105–135, §603(c)(1)(A), inserted “, a ‘qualified HUBZone small business concern’,” after “ ‘small business concern’,”.

Pub. L. 105–85 substituted “concern owned and controlled by women” for “concerns owned and controlled by women”.

Subsec. (d)(1)(A). Pub. L. 105–135, §603(c)(1)(B), substituted “section 638, 644, or 657a” for “section 638 or 644”.

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–135, §603(c)(2), inserted “, a ‘HUBZone small business concern’,” after “ ‘small business concern’,”.

Pub. L. 105–85 substituted “concern owned and controlled by women” for “concerns owned and controlled by women”.

1994—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 103–355, §7106(c)(1), substituted “, a ‘small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals’, or a ‘small business concerns owned and controlled by women’ ” for “or ‘small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals’ ”.

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 103–355, §7106(c)(2), substituted “, a ‘small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals’, or a ‘small business concerns owned and controlled by women’ ” for “or ‘small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals’ ”.

1988—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–656, §405(a), amended subsec. (d) generally, designating existing provisions as par. (1), redesignating former pars. (1) to (4) as subpars. (A) to (D), respectively, and in subpar. (D), substituting “subject to the penalties and remedies described in paragraph (2)” for “punished by a fine of not more than ,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both”, and adding par. (2).

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–656, §405(b), added subsec. (f).

1986—Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 99–272 added subsecs. (d) and (e).

1964—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 88–264 added subsec. (c).

Effective Date of 1997 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 105–135 effective Oct. 1, 1997, see section 3 of Pub. L. 105–135, set out as a note under section 631 of this title.

Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

For effective date and applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 103–355, see section 10001 of Pub. L. 103–355, set out as a note under section 251 of Title 41, Public Contracts.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 636, 637, 657a, 687 of this title; title 12 section 1833a.

1 So in original. Following provision probably should be set flush with par. (1).