I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2986
To establish a criminal penalty for the production, sale, transportation, or
possession of fictitious financial instruments purporting to be instruments
issued by a public or private entity, to require forfeiture of counterfeit
access devices, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 28, 1996
Mr. LEACH (for himself, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BACHUS, Mrs.
MALONEY, Mr. ROYCE, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. HEINEMAN, and Mr. WATTS of
Oklahoma) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To establish a criminal penalty for the production, sale,
transportation, or possession of fictitious financial instru-
ments purporting to be instruments issued by a public
or private entity, to require forfeiture of counterfeit ac-
cess devices, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Crimes Pre-
vention Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. FICTITIOUS FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS.
(a) INCREASED PENALTIES FOR COUNTERFEITING
VIOLATIONS.—
(1) SECTION 474.—Section 474 title 18, United
States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Is guilty of a
class C felony’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be fined under
this title, imprisoned not more than 25 years, or
both’’.
(2) SECTION 474A.—Section 474A of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘is
guilty of a class C felony’’ each place such term ap-
pears in such section and inserting ‘‘shall be fined
under this title, imprisoned not more than 25 years,
or both’’.
(b) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR PRODUCTION, SALE,
TRANSPORTATION, OR POSSESSION OF FICTITIOUS FI-
NANCIAL INSTRUMENTS PURPORTING TO BE THOSE OF
THE STATES, OF POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS, AND OF PRI-
VATE ORGANIZATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 25 of title 18, Unit-
ed States Code, is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 513 the following new section:
‘‘§ 514. Fictitious obligations
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, with the intent to de-
fraud—
‘‘(1) possesses any fictitious obligation within
the United States;
‘‘(2) draws, prints, processes, produces, pub-
lishes, or otherwise makes any fictitious obligation
within the United States;
‘‘(3) passes, utters, presents, offers, brokers, is-
sues, or sells any fictitious obligation within the
United States;
‘‘(4) uses an instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce, including the use of the mails or
wire, radio, or other electronic communication, to
transmit or transport any fictitious obligation to,
from, or through the United States; or
‘‘(5) attempts to commit an offense described in
paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4),
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than
25 years, or both.
‘‘(b) FICTITIOUS OBLIGATION DEFINED.—The term
‘fictitious obligation’ means any false or fictitious instru-
ment, document, or other item which appears or is pur-
ported to be an actual security or other financial instru-
ment issued under the authority of the United States, a
foreign government, a State or other political subdivision
of the United States, or an organization.
‘‘(c) INCORPORATED DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of
this section, any term used in this section which is defined
in section 513(c) shall have the meaning given that term
in such section.
‘‘(d) 
INVESTIGATIVE
AUTHORITY.—The 
United
States Secret Service, in addition to any other agency hav-
ing such authority, shall have authority to investigate of-
fenses under this section.’’.
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for chapter 25 of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 513 the following new item:
‘‘514. Fictitious obligations.’’.
SEC. 3. FORFEITURE OF COUNTERFEIT ACCESS DEVICES
AND OTHER EQUIPMENT.
Section 80302(a) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ the last
place it appears;
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and
inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(6) a counterfeit access device, device-making
equipment, or scanning receiver (as such terms are
defined in section 1029 of title 18) that is possessed
with the intent to defraud in violation of Federal
law.’’.
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