18 U.S.C. § 512

Forfeiture of certain motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts

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(a) If an identification number for a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part is removed, obliterated, tampered with, or altered, such vehicle or part shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture to the United States unless—(1) in the case of a motor vehicle part, such part is attached to a motor vehicle and the owner of such motor vehicle does not know that the identification number has been removed, obliterated, tampered with, or altered;(2) such motor vehicle or part has a replacement identification number that—(A) is authorized by the Secretary of Transportation under chapter 301 of title 49; or(B) conforms to applicable State law;(3) such removal, obliteration, tampering, or alteration is caused by collision or fire or is carried out as described in section 511(b) of this title; or(4) such motor vehicle or part is in the possession or control of a motor vehicle scrap processor who does not know that such identification number was removed, obliterated, tampered with, or altered in any manner other than by collision or fire or as described in section 511(b) of this title.(b) All provisions of law relating to—(1) the seizure and condemnation of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage for violation of customs laws, and procedures for summary and judicial forfeiture applicable to such violations;(2) the disposition of such vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage or the proceeds from such disposition;(3) the remission or mitigation of such forfeiture; and(4) the compromise of claims and the award of compensation to informers with respect to such forfeiture;shall apply to seizures and forfeitures under this section, to the extent that such provisions are not inconsistent with this section. The duties of the collector of customs or any other person with respect to seizure and forfeiture under such provisions shall be performed under this section by such persons as may be designated by the Attorney General.(c) As used in this section, the terms “identification number”, “motor vehicle”, and “motor vehicle scrap processor” have the meanings given those terms in section 511 of this title.(Added Pub. L. 98–547, title II, § 201(a), Oct. 25, 1984, 98 Stat. 2769; amended Pub. L. 103–272, § 5(e)(4), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1373.)Editorial NotesAmendments

1994—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 103–272 substituted “chapter 301 title 49” for “the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966”.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1987–2022 · leading case: United States v. Parcel of Rumson, NJ, Land
United States v. Parcel of Rumson, NJ, Land (1993) scotus · cites it 2× “§ 2409 (c) (permitting the "owner" of property seized for forfeiture to recover it, pendente lite, by posting bond); § 2439(c) (same); 18 U. S. C. § 512 (a) (permitting the "owner" of motor vehicle with altered identification number to avoid forfeiture by proving lack of…”
United States v. Edward Avery Herndon (1992) ca10 · cites it 3× “1 Count three sought criminal forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 512 of certain items in Herndon’s possession which also contained altered VINs.”
United States v. 1988 Chevrolet Silverado, VIN: 1GCDC14H5JZ157972 (1994) ca5 · cites it 7× “WIENER, Circuit Judge: Today we address the question — res nova in this circuit — who bears the burden of proof once the government establishes probable cause to seize property in a civil forfeiture proceeding under 18 U.S.C. § 512 , which codifies § 201 of the Motor Vehicle…”
United States v. John Robert Hasson, A.K.A. Heloneti Galera, A.K.A. Jack Hasson (2003) ca11 “§ 1615 incorporated by 18 U.S.C. § 512 , which states that “[a]ll .”
United States v. Leslie J. Webster (1997) ca7 “Webster cannot claim that he could not prepare a defense simply by knowing the offense and the date of the alleged crime. He has not suggested that he filed any other bankruptcies on March 25, 1991 in the Western District of Wisconsin.”
United States v. Any & All Assets of That Certain Business Known as Shane Co. (1991) ncmd “Moreover, both are tied to forfeita-ble stolen vehicles and parts ( 18 U.S.C. § 512 ) and clear disregard of tax and legal obligations in running Shane.”
United States v. One 1978 MacK Glider Kit Tractor (1987) ctd “This action was brought pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 512 (a), which provides, in relevant part: If an identification number for a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part is removed, obliterated, tampered with, or altered, such vehicle or part shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture to…”
United States v. Steven Coren (2011) ca2 “§ 1956 (h)), and one count of obstruction of justice ( 18 U.S.C. § 512 (c)(l)(2)). He was sentenced principally to 30 months’ imprisonment.”
United States v. Binette (2011) mad “That statute, enacted as part of the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, reads as follows: (c) Whoever corruptly— (1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity, or…”
Application of the Comstock Act to the Mailing of Prescription Drugs That Can Be Used for Abortions (2022) olc “683 , 864 (1948) (repealing, inter alia, 18 U.S.C. § 512 (1946)). Section 2 of the Act, which eventually became codified as section 1461, criminalized the mailing of, inter alia, “obscene, lewd, or lascivious” writings; “any article or thing 3 46 Op.”
United States v. Shanda Gilyard (2011) ca4 · cites it 2× “The judgment states that Gilyard was convicted of Counts Nine through Fourteen under 18 U.S.C. § 512 (a). Gilyard, however, was charged with and convicted of violating 18 U.”
— 18 U.S.C. § 512(a) — 1 case
United States v. 1988 Chevrolet Silverado, VIN: 1GCDC14H5JZ157972 (1994) ca5 “WIENER, Circuit Judge: Today we address the question — res nova in this circuit — who bears the burden of proof once the government establishes probable cause to seize property in a civil forfeiture proceeding under 18 U.S.C. § 512 , which codifies § 201 of the Motor Vehicle…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.