18 U.S.C. § 288
Section 288 · False claims for postal losses
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case United States v. Gaudin (1994)
Most recently applied in 587 F. Supp. 2d 1105 - United States v. Berner (September 2008)
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 makes, alleges, or presents any claim or application for indemnity for the loss of any registered or insured letter, parcel, package, or other article or matter, or the contents thereof, knowing such claim or application to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent; or
Whoever for the purpose of obtaining or aiding to obtain the payment or approval of any such claim or application, makes or uses any false statement, certificate, affidavit, or deposition; or
Whoever knowingly and willfully misrepresents, or misstates, or, for the purpose aforesaid, knowingly and willfully conceals any material fact or circumstance in respect of any such claim or application for indemnity—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
Where the amount of such claim or application for indemnity is less than $1,000 only a fine shall be imposed.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §354 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §224, 35 Stat. 1133; Aug. 5, 1939, ch. 429, 53 Stat. 1203).
Reference to persons causing, assisting, aiding, or abetting, was omitted as such persons are made principals by section 2 of this title.
Changes in phraseology were made.
Amendments
1996—Pub. L. 104–294 substituted “$1,000” for “$100” in fifth par.
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $500” in fourth par.
Cross References
False statements or entries, generally, see section 1001 of this title.