§ 50. — Offenses and penalties.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC50]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 2--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION; PROMOTION OF EXPORT TRADE AND
PREVENTION OF UNFAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION
SUBCHAPTER I--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Sec. 50. Offenses and penalties
Any person who shall neglect or refuse to attend and testify, or to
answer any lawful inquiry or to produce any documentary evidence, if in
his power to do so, in obedience to an order of a district court of the
United States directing compliance with the subpoena or lawful
requirement of the Commission, shall be guilty of an offense and upon
conviction thereof by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be
punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000, or by
imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
Any person who shall willfully make, or cause to be made, any false
entry or statement of fact in any report required to be made under this
subchapter, or who shall willfully make, or cause to be made, any false
entry in any account, record, or memorandum kept by any person,
partnership, or corporation subject to this subchapter, or who shall
willfully neglect or fail to make, or to cause to be made, full, true,
and correct entries in such accounts, records, or memoranda of all facts
and transactions appertaining to the business of such person,
partnership, or corporation, or who shall willfully remove out of the
jurisdiction of the United States, or willfully mutilate, alter, or by
any other means falsify any documentary evidence of such person,
partnership, or corporation, or who shall willfully refuse to submit to
the Commission or to any of its authorized agents, for the purpose of
inspection and taking copies, any documentary evidence of such person,
partnership, or corporation in his possession or within his control,
shall be deemed guilty of an offense against the United States, and
shall be subject, upon conviction in any court of the United States of
competent jurisdiction, to a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than
$5,000, or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or
to both such fine and imprisonment.
If any persons, partnership, or corporation required by this
subchapter to file any annual or special report shall fail so to do
within the time fixed by the Commission for filing the same, and such
failure shall continue for thirty days after notice of such default, the
corporation shall forfeit to the United States the sum of $100 for each
and every day of the continuance of such failure, which forfeiture shall
be payable into the Treasury of the United States, and shall be
recoverable in a civil suit in the name of the United States brought in
the case of a corporation or partnership in the district where the
corporation or partnership has its principal office or in any district
in which it shall do business, and in the case of any person in the
district where such person resides or has his principal place of
business. It shall be the duty of the various United States attorneys,
under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States, to
prosecute for the recovery of the forfeitures. The costs and expenses of
such prosecution shall be paid out of the appropriation for the expenses
of the courts of the United States.
Any officer or employee of the Commission who shall make public any
information obtained by the Commission without its authority, unless
directed by a court, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $5,000, or
by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by fine and imprisonment, in
the discretion of the court.
(Sept. 26, 1914, ch. 311, Sec. 10, 38 Stat. 723; June 25, 1948, ch. 646,
Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 909; Pub. L. 93-637, title II, Sec. 203(c), Jan. 4,
1975, 88 Stat. 2199; Pub. L. 96-252, Sec. 6, May 28, 1980, 94 Stat.
376.)
Amendments
1980--First par. Pub. L. 96-252 inserted ``any'' after ``produce''
and ``an order of a district court of the United States directing
compliance with'' after ``obedience to''.
1975--Second par. Pub. L. 93-637, Sec. 203(c)(1), substituted
``person, partnership, or corporation'' for ``corporation'' wherever
appearing.
Third par. Pub. L. 93-637, Sec. 203(c)(2), substituted ``If any
persons, partnership, or corporation'' for ``If any corporation'', and
``in the case of a corporation or partnership in the district where the
corporation or partnership has its principal office or in any district
in which it shall do business, and in the case of any person in the
district where such person resides or has his principal place of
business'' for ``in the district where the corporation has its principal
office or in any district in which it shall do business''.
Change of Name
Act June 25, 1948, eff. Sept. 1, 1948, substituted ``United States
attorneys'' for ``district attorneys''. See section 541 et seq. of Title
28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 96-252 effective May 28, 1980, see section 23
of Pub. L. 96-252, set out as a note under section 45 of this title.
Transfer of Functions
For transfer of functions of Federal Trade Commission, with certain
exceptions, to Chairman of such Commission, see Reorg. Plan No. 8 of
1950, Sec. 1, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3175, 64 Stat. 1264, set out
under section 41 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in title 7 sections 198b, 222, 610,
1636, 2146, 3807; title 21 sections 467d, 677, 1051; title 26 section
5274; title 27 section 202; title 29 sections 177, 209, 521, 1134, 1862,
2004; title 33 sections 907, 944; title 50 App. 1983.
