18 U.S.C. § 1711
Section 1711 · Misappropriation of postal funds
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 53 court decisions — leading case United States v. Lucarz (1970)
Most recently applied in United States v. Martinez-Mercado (March 2025)
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, being a Postal Service officer or employee, loans, uses, pledges, hypothecates, or converts to his own use, or deposits in any bank, or exchanges for other funds or property, except as authorized by law, any money or property coming into his hands or under his control in any manner, in the execution or under color of his office, employment, or service, whether or not the same shall be the money or property of the United States; or fails or refuses to remit to or deposit in the Treasury of the United States or in a designated depository, or to account for or turn over to the proper officer or agent, any such money or property, when required to do so by law or the regulations of the Postal Service, or upon demand or order of the Postal Service, either directly or through a duly authorized officer or agent, is guilty of embezzlement; and every such person, as well as every other person advising or knowingly participating therein, shall be fined under this title or in a sum equal to the amount or value of the money or property embezzled, whichever is greater, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; but if the amount or value thereof does not exceed $1,000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
This section shall not prohibit any Postal Service officer or employee from depositing, under the direction of the Postal Service, in a national bank designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for that purpose, to his own credit as Postal Service officer or employee any funds in his charge, nor prevent his negotiating drafts or other evidences of debt through such bank, or through United States disbursing officers, or otherwise, when instructed or required so to do by the Postal Service, for the purpose of remitting surplus funds from one post office to another.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §355 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §225, 35 Stat. 1133; June 10, 1921, ch. 18, §304, 42 Stat. 24).
Said section 355 was divided into two sections, this section and section 3498 of this title.
The smaller punishment for an offense involving $100 or less was added. (See reviser's notes under sections 641 and 645 of this title.)
Changes of phraseology only were made.
Amendments
1996—Pub. L. 104–294 substituted “$1,000” for “$100” in first par.
1994—Pub. L. 103–322, §330016(2)(G), in first par., substituted “be fined under this title or in a sum equal to the amount or value of the money or property embezzled, whichever is greater, or imprisoned” for “be fined in a sum equal to the amount or value of the money or property embezzled or imprisoned”.
Pub. L. 103–322, §330016(1)(H), in first par., substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000” after “he shall be”.
1970—Pub. L. 91–375 substituted “Postal Service officer or employee” and “Postal Service” for “postmaster or Postal Service employee” and “Post Office Department” in first par., “Postal Service officer or employee” for “Postmaster” in two places in second par., and “Postal Service” for “Postmaster General” once in first par. after “order of the” and twice in second par., respectively.
Effective Date of 1970 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 91–375 effective within 1 year after Aug. 12, 1970, on date established therefor by Board of Governors of United States Postal Service and published by it in Federal Register, see section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91–375, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section 101 of Title 39, Postal Service.