National Stolen Property Act

The National Stolen Property Act is an Act of Congress which prohibits certain offenses relating to stolen property and forgery. The definitions related to the Act are codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2311[1] and the offense are codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314–2315.[2]

In general, the Act prohibits the interstate or international transportation of the proceeds of theft and certain types of forged securities, as well as the receipt or fencing of stolen property, forged securities, or tools for forging securities.

Transportation of stolen goods and forged securities

Section 2314 of Title 18, the "transportation" offense, consists of five different paragraphs. The first paragraph relates to the interstate or foreign transportation of the proceeds of a theft or a fraud where the proceeds have a value of $5,000 or more. The second paragraph relates to causing the interstate transportation of a victim to defraud the victim of $5,000 or more of money or property. The third paragraph relates to the interstate and foreign transportation of falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities or tax stamps. The fourth paragraph relates to the interstate or foreign transportation of a traveler's check bearing a forged countersignature. The fifth paragraph relates to the interstate or foreign transportation of the implements and tools used to falsely make, forge, alter, or counterfeit securities or tax stamps.

Receipt and disposal of stolen goods and forged securities

Section 2315 of Title 18, the receipt and "fencing" offense, consists of three different paragraphs. The first paragraph relates to the receipt and disposition of the proceeds of a theft or fraud having a value of $5,000 or more. It also prohibits the pledging or accepting as security for a loan such stolen property having a value of $500. The second paragraph contains similar elements as the first paragraph except it relates to falsely made, forged, altered, or counterfeited securities or tax stamps and does not require a stated monetary value. Likewise, the third paragraph is comparable to the second paragraph except that it relates to the tools or implements used to falsely make, forge, alter, or counterfeit securities or tax stamps. In 1986, the jurisdictional basis for the first two paragraphs of 18 U.S.C. § 2315 was modified and the offense of possession was added to both paragraphs.

Exceptions

In the last paragraph of both 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2315, there is a "proviso" clause which exempts certain governmental securities from the scope of the sections. Offenses involving securities not covered by this act are usually prosecutable under one of the statutes in Chapter 25 of Title 18.[3]

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Department of Justice document: "United States Attorneys' Manual".

  1. 18 U.S.C. § 2311
  2. 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314–2315
  3. 18 U.S.C. ch. 25.
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