18 U.S.C. § 3284
Section 3284 · Concealment of bankrupts assets
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 45 court decisions — leading case United States v. Rivera-Ventura (1995)
Most recently applied in United States v. Pontz (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.
The concealment of assets of a debtor in a case under title 11 shall be deemed to be a continuing offense until the debtor shall have been finally discharged or a discharge denied, and the period of limitations shall not begin to run until such final discharge or denial of discharge.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on section 52(d) of title 11, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Bankruptcy (May 27, 1926, ch. 406, §11d, 44 Stat. 665; June 22, 1938, ch. 575, §1, 52 Stat. 856).
The 3-year-limitation provision was omitted as unnecessary in view of the general statute, section 3282 of this title.
The words “or a discharge denied” and “or denial of discharge” were added on the recommendation of the Department of Justice to supply an omission in existing law.
Other subsections of said section 52 of title 11, U.S.C., 1940 ed., are incorporated in sections 151–154 and 3057 of this title.
Other minor changes of phraseology were made.
Amendments
1978—Pub. L. 95–598 substituted “debtor in a case under title 11” for “bankrupt or other debtor”.
Effective Date of 1978 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 95–598 effective Oct. 1, 1979, see section 402(a) of Pub. L. 95–598, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy.
Savings Provision
Amendment by section 314 of Pub. L. 95–598 not to affect the application of chapter 9 (§151 et seq.), chapter 96 (§1961 et seq.), or section 2516, 3057, or 3284 of this title to any act of any person (1) committed before Oct. 1, 1979, or (2) committed after Oct. 1, 1979, in connection with a case commenced before such date, see section 403(d) of Pub. L. 95–598, set out as a note preceding section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy.
Cross References
Bankruptcy investigations, see section 3057 of this title.
Five year limitation on offenses relating to bankruptcy, see section 3282 of this title.
Offenses relating to bankruptcy, see section 151 et seq. of this title.