CITE

    18 USC Sec. 492                                             01/05/2009

EXPCITE

    TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
    PART I - CRIMES
    CHAPTER 25 - COUNTERFEITING AND FORGERY

HEAD

    Sec. 492. Forfeiture of counterfeit paraphernalia

STATUTE

      All counterfeits of any coins or obligations or other securities
    of the United States or of any foreign government, or any articles,
    devices, and other things made, possessed, or used in violation of
    this chapter or of sections 331-333, 335, 336, 642 or 1720, of this
    title, or any material or apparatus used or fitted or intended to
    be used, in the making of such counterfeits, articles, devices or
    things, found in the possession of any person without authority
    from the Secretary of the Treasury or other proper officer, shall
    be forfeited to the United States.
      Whoever, having the custody or control of any such counterfeits,
    material, apparatus, articles, devices, or other things, fails or
    refuses to surrender possession thereof upon request by any
    authorized agent of the Treasury Department, or other proper
    officer, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
    than one year, or both.
      Whenever, except as hereinafter in this section provided, any
    person interested in any article, device, or other thing, or
    material or apparatus seized under this section files with the
    Secretary of the Treasury, before the disposition thereof, a
    petition for the remission or mitigation of such forfeiture, the
    Secretary of the Treasury, if he finds that such forfeiture was
    incurred without willful negligence or without any intention on the
    part of the petitioner to violate the law, or finds the existence
    of such mitigating circumstances as to justify the remission or the
    mitigation of such forfeiture, may remit or mitigate the same upon
    such terms and conditions as he deems reasonable and just.
      If the seizure involves offenses other than offenses against the
    coinage, currency, obligations or securities of the United States
    or any foreign government, the petition for the remission or
    mitigation of forfeiture shall be referred to the Attorney General,
    who may remit or mitigate the forfeiture upon such terms as he
    deems reasonable and just.

SOURCE

    (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 710; Pub. L. 107-273, div. B,
    title IV, Sec. 4002(d)(1)(A), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1809.)

HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES

      Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Sec. 286 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch.
    321, Sec. 172, 35 Stat. 1121; Jan. 27, 1938, ch. 10, Sec. 4, 52
    Stat. 7).
      Section was materially shortened through merger of former third
    and fourth sentences with present first and second paragraphs by
    extending latter to include "articles, devices, and other things".
    This necessitated many insertions and deletions in the first two
    paragraphs, which, however, did not affect the substance of the
    section.
      A reference in the former third sentence to violations of certain
    sections was broadened to read "in violation of this chapter or of
    sections 331-333, 335-336, 642, 1720, of this title" and
    incorporated in the first paragraph. This translation extends for
    the first time the provisions of this section to subject matter of
    sections 493-496, 498, 499, 504-509 of this title. All of the
    sections covered by the original reference in this section are
    represented in the translation except section 261, now section 8 of
    this title, and section 287 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., which
    were omitted therefrom as unnecessary, since the former is
    definitive and the latter related to procedure only, and is
    superseded by rule 41(a), (b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal
    Procedure.
      The revised section was so written as to limit the authority of
    the Secretary of the Treasury to forfeitures within the enforcement
    powers of the Treasury Department, which advises that it does not
    investigate counterfeiting offenses not involving coins, currency,
    or Government obligations and securities. The Attorney General is
    the appropriate officer to remit or mitigate other forfeitures.
      Changes in phraseology were also made.
                                AMENDMENTS
      2002 - Pub. L. 107-273 substituted "under this title" for "not
    more than $100" in second par.