18 U.S.C. § 646
Section 646 · Court officers depositing registry moneys
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 24 court decisions — leading case United States v. Arjoon (1992)
Most recently applied in Boyd v. Wilmington Trust Co. (June 2009)
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 clerk or other officer of a court of the United States, fails to deposit promptly any money belonging in the registry of the court, or paid into court or received by the officers thereof, with the Treasurer or a designated depositary of the United States, in the name and to the credit of such court, or retains or converts to his own use or to the use of another any such money, is guilty of embezzlement and shall be fined under this title or not more than the amount embezzled, whichever is greater, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; but if the amount embezzled 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 prevent the delivery of any such money upon security, according to agreement of parties, under the direction of the court.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §185 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §99, 35 Stat. 1106; May 29, 1920, ch. 214, §1, 41 Stat. 654).
The smaller punishment for an offense involving $100 or less was inserted for the reasons outlined in reviser's notes to sections 641 and 645 of this title.
Minor changes were made in phraseology.
Amendments
1996—Pub. L. 104–294 substituted “$1,000” for “$100”.
1994—Pub. L. 103–322, §330016(2)(H), substituted “shall be fined under this title or not more than the amount embezzled, whichever is greater, or imprisoned” for “shall be fined not more than the amount embezzled, or imprisoned”.
Pub. L. 103–322, §330016(1)(H), substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $1,000” after “he shall be”.
Transfer of Functions
Functions of all officers of Department of the Treasury, and functions of all agencies and employees of such Department, transferred, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Treasury, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or performance of any of his functions, by any of such officers, agencies, and employees, by Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, §§1, 2, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, 1281, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. The Treasurer of the United States, referred to in this section, is an officer of Department of the Treasury.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Deposit in court, see rule 67, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Cross References
Depositaries of public moneys and financial agents of Government, see section 90 of Title 12, Banks and Banking.
Moneys paid into court, deposit and withdrawal, see sections 2041, 2042 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.