The National Stolen Property Act is an Act of Congress that prohibits the transportation, sale, and receipt of certain illegally obtained property in interstate or international commerce, including stolen goods and forged securities. The definitions for the terms used in the Act are codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2311; the offenses are codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314–2315.
Congress first passed the Act in 1934 to respond to thieves and fences who increasingly exploited channels of interstate commerce to avoid state law enforcement; since then, the Act has been amended multiple times and found applications in many other contexts, including the looting and smuggling of unprovenanced artifacts.See generally Stephen K. Urice, Between Rocks and Hard Places: Unprovenanced Antiquities and the National Stolen Property Act, 40 N.M. L. Rev. 123 (2010).
Provisions
Definitions Section 2311 of Title 18 provides the definitions for certain words and phrases used in the Act. For example, "money" is defined to include not just the legal tender of the U.S. or any foreign country, but also any counterfeit; "security" receives an expansive definition that also includes, among other things, not just "any instrument commonly known as a 'security,'" but also any forged representation thereof; and "value" is defined as the greatest of the aggregate face, par, or market value of all goods, securities, and money identified in a single indictment.
Separately, both 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2315 define a "veterans' memorial object" as any grave marker or other monument intended to permanently honor a veteran or an event of national military historical significance.
Transportation Section 2314 of Title 18 proscribes six categories of transportation-related conduct. Broadly speaking, paragraphs one and two are concerned with stolen goods; paragraphs three through five with forgery; and paragraph six with veterans' memorial objects. The following table outlines the offenses. ParagraphActus ReusMens ReaJurisdictional HookMonetary ThresholdPunishment1Transportation of stolen or fraudulently taken goods, securities, or moneyKnowledge that the goods etc. were stolen or taken by fraudThe goods etc. were transported in interstate or international commerceAt least $5,000Fine or imprisonment up to 10 years2Transportation of persons in execution or concealment of a pre-devised scheme to defraud said persons of money or property, or inducement of such transportationIntent to devise such a schemeThe persons were transported or induced to be transported in interstate or international commerceAt least $5,000Fine or imprisonment up to 10 years3Transportation of forged or falsely altered securities or tax stampsUnlawful or fraudulent intent; knowledge that the securities etc. were forged or falsely alteredThe securities etc. were transported in interstate or international commerceNoneFine or imprisonment up to 10 years4Transportation of traveler's checks with forged countersignaturesUnlawful or fraudulent intentThe checks were transported in interstate or international commerceNoneFine or imprisonment up to 10 years5Transportation of tools used or fitted for use in forging or falsely altering securities or tax stampsUnlawful or fraudulent intentThe tools were transported in interstate or international commerceNoneFine or imprisonment up to 10 years6Transportation of stolen or fraudulently taken veterans' memorial objectsKnowledge that the memorial objects were stolen or taken by fraudThe objects were transported in interstate or international commerceNoneFine or imprisonment up to 10 years
Notes to table a. In general, the punishment for any transportation offense involving a pre-retail medical product, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 670, shall be the greater of the punishment under this section and the punishment under § 670.
b. But the punishment for the transportation of veterans' memorial objects collectively worth less than $1,000 shall be limited to a fine or imprisonment up to one year.
Sale or receipt Section 2315 of Title 18 proscribes five categories of fencing-related conduct. Broadly speaking, paragraph one is concerned with stolen goods; paragraphs two and three with forgery; and paragraph four with veterans' memorial objects. The following table outlines the offenses. ParagraphActus ReusMens ReaJurisdictional HookMonetary ThresholdPunishment1Receipt, possession, concealment, sale, or disposal of stolen goods, securities, or moneyKnowledge that the goods etc. were stolenThe goods etc. crossed a State or U.S. boundary after being stolenAt least $5,000Fine or imprisonment up to 10 years1Pledging or accepting stolen goods, securities, or money as security for a loanKnowledge that the goods etc. were stolenThe goods etc. crossed a State or U.S. boundary after being stolenAt least $500Fine or imprisonment up to 10 years2Receipt, possession, concealment, sale, or disposal of any forged or falsely altered securities or tax stampsKnowledge that the securities etc. were forged or falsely alteredThe securities etc. form a part of interstate or international commerceNoneFine or imprisonment up to 10 years3Receipt, possession, concealment, sale, or disposal of tools used or intended for use in forging or falsely altering securities or tax stampsKnowledge that the tools were used or fitted for use in forging or falsely altering securities or tax stampsThe tools were received in interstate or international commerce, or the securities etc. form a part of interstate or international commerceNoneFine or imprisonment up to 10 years4Receipt, possession, concealment, sale, or disposal of veterans' memorial objectsKnowledge that the memorial objects were stolenThe objects crossed a State or U.S. boundary after being stolenNoneFine or imprisonment up to 10 years
Notes to table a. In general, the punishment for any fencing offense involving a pre-retail medical product, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 670, shall be the greater of the punishment under this section and the punishment under § 670.
b. But the punishment for the receipt, possession, concealment, sale, or disposal of veterans' memorial objects collectively worth less than $1,000 shall be limited to a fine or imprisonment up to one year.
Exceptions Both 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2315 contain provisions that expressly preempt their application to forged or altered bonds or securities issued by the U.S. or any foreign government and to forged or altered bills or bank notes intended to circulate as money in a foreign country. These offenses are usually prosecutable under one of the statutes in Chapter 25 of Title 18 instead.
Legislative history
Predecessor The predecessor to the National Stolen Property Act was the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, which passed Congress in 1919.Stephen K. Urice, Between Rocks and Hard Places: Unprovenanced Antiquities and the National Stolen Property Act, 40 N.M. L. Rev. 123, 133 (2010) (citing U.S. v. Turley, 352 U.S. 407, 408, 413–17 (1957)). In essence, this predecessor statute invoked the Commerce Clause to respond to the advent of the automobile and the challenge it presented state law enforcement efforts: for the first time in history, a valuable piece of property, once stolen, could itself be used as the means to flee across state boundaries and thereby escape state jurisdiction.
Enactment Fifteen years later, in 1934, Congress expanded the predecessor statute by passing the National Stolen Property Act,Stephen K. Urice, Between Rocks and Hard Places: Unprovenanced Antiquities and the National Stolen Property Act, 40 N.M. L. Rev. 123, 134 (2010) (citing Pub. L. No. 73-246, 48 Stat. 794 (1934)). with similar intent:Stephen K. Urice, Between Rocks and Hard Places: Unprovenanced Antiquities and the National Stolen Property Act, 40 N.M. L. Rev. 123, 134 (2010) (citing U.S. v. Sheridan, 329 U.S. 379, 384 (1946)). in order to detect and punish "[g]angsters who now convey stolen property, except vehicles, across the State line, with that immemorial gesture of derision," Congress decided to no longer limit the provisions of the predecessor statute to motor vehicles;Stephen K. Urice, Between Rocks and Hard Places: Unprovenanced Antiquities and the National Stolen Property Act, 40 N.M. L. Rev. 123, 134 (2010) (citing 78 Cong. Rec. 6981 (1934) (statement of Sen. Ashurst)). rather, the new Act applied to everything from forged securities to run-of-the-mill goods.
Notable amendments Both 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2315 have been amended multiple times since enactment. The following survey focuses on some of the amendments that either materially affected the implementation of the Act or materially expanded it; it is not meant to be comprehensive.
1986 Congress amended the first paragraph of 18 U.S.C. § 2315 in two ways.Stephen K. Urice, Between Rocks and Hard Places: Unprovenanced Antiquities and the National Stolen Property Act, 40 N.M. L. Rev. 123, 134 (2010) (citing Criminal Law and Procedure Technical Amendments Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-646, § 76, 100 Stat 3592, 3618 (1986)).
First, the mere possession of stolen properties was added as a proscribed conduct alongside the receipt and concealment of such properties. In criminalizing possession, Congress intended to eliminate the jurisdictional problem that arose where the defendant knowingly possessed stolen properties but could not be shown to have received them in a particular district.Stephen K. Urice, Between Rocks and Hard Places: Unprovenanced Antiquities and the National Stolen Property Act, 40 N.M. L. Rev. 123, 134 (2010) (citing 131 Cong. Rec. 14, 183 (1985)).
Second, the requirement that the stolen properties formed part of interstate commerce was replaced with the bright-line test of whether they had crossed a state or U.S. boundary. In opting for this bright-line test, Congress intended to eliminate the defense that the stolen properties had left interstate commerce by "coming to rest" or by the passage of time.Stephen K. Urice, Between Rocks and Hard Places: Unprovenanced Antiquities and the National Stolen Property Act, 40 N.M. L. Rev. 123, 134 (2010) (citing U.S. v. Trupin, 117 F.3d 678, 683–84 (2d Cir. 1997)).
2013 Congress added all provisions pertaining to veterans' memorial objects (discussed above) as they now appear in both 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2315.National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, Pub. L. No. 112-239, § 1084, 126 Stat 1632, 1963 (2013).
Implementation
Investigation The investigative jurisdiction for the offenses proscribed under the Act is vested in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Prosecutorial decision For offenses related to stolen goods (i.e., those proscribed under the first two paragraphs of 18 U.S.C. § 2314 or the first paragraph of § 2315), the Justice Manual directs federal prosecutors to decide whether or not to bring federal charges based on the same factors that are applicable to other non-governmental thefts or frauds. Adjusting the monetary threshold of $5,000 for inflation, the Manual also establishes a general rule of limiting federal prosecution to offenses involving more than $60,000, absent other noteworthy circumstances. It further establishes a general rule of prioritizing the prosecution of fencing over the prosecution of theft, especially where fencing was carried out as part of a legitimate business selling stolen goods to the public.
As for offenses related to forgeries proscribed under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2315, the Manual calls for an application of "balanced" judgments that leave prosecution primarily to state prosecutors, unless federal prosecutors need to step in due to the scope of the offenses or the failure of their state counterparts.
In enforcing the Act, the Department of Justice does not currently consider a stolen or fraudulently obtained credit card to be a "security," even though it would arguably be within the expansive definition of "security" under 18 U.S.C. § 2311.