18 U.S.C. § 1519
Section 1519 · Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy
This is § 802 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 223 court decisions — leading case United States v. Hunt (2008)
Most recently applied in United States v. Derrick Clark (June 2025)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 18 U.S.C. § 1512 · 18 U.S.C. § 371 · 18 U.S.C. § 1001
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 alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.