18 U.S.C. § 1003
Section 1003 · Demands against the United States
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 14 court decisions — leading case United States v. Miller (1990)
Most recently applied in 2024 IL App (4th) 220753 - Leone v. Division of Professional Regulation of the Department of Financial & Professional Regulation (December 2024)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Whoever knowingly and fraudulently demands or endeavors to obtain any share or sum in the public stocks of the United States, or to have any part thereof transferred, assigned, sold, or conveyed, or to have any annuity, dividend, pension, wages, gratuity, or other debt due from the United States, or any part thereof, received, or paid by virtue of any false, forged, or counterfeited power of attorney, authority, or instrument, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both; but if the sum or value so obtained or attempted to be obtained does not exceed $1,000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §79 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §34, 35 Stat. 1095).
Words “prize money” were deleted on the ground that they are an anachronism and were so before 1909. (See reviser's note under section 915 of this title.)
Mandatory punishment provision was rephrased in the alternative.
The smaller punishment for an offense involving $100 or less was added. (See reviser's note to sections 641 and 645 of this title.)
The maximum term of “five years” was substituted for “ten years” and “$10,000” was substituted for “$5,000” as being more in harmony with punishment provision of similar sections. (See reviser's note under section 1001 of this title.)
Minor changes in phraseology were made.
Amendments
1996—Pub. L. 104–294 substituted “$1,000” for “$100”.
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000” after “instrument, shall be” and for “fined not more than $1,000” after “he shall be”.