U.S. Code » Title 18 » Part PART I— CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 31— EMBEZZLEMENT AND THEFT

18 U.S.C. § 670

Theft of medical products

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(a)Prohibited Conduct.—Whoever, in, or using any means or facility of, interstate or foreign commerce—(1) embezzles, steals, or by fraud or deception obtains, or knowingly and unlawfully takes, carries away, or conceals a pre-retail medical product;(2) knowingly and falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits the labeling or documentation (including documentation relating to origination or shipping) of a pre-retail medical product;(3) knowingly possesses, transports, or traffics in a pre-retail medical product that was involved in a violation of paragraph (1) or (2);(4) with intent to defraud, buys, or otherwise obtains, a pre-retail medical product that has expired or been stolen;(5) with intent to defraud, sells, or distributes, a pre-retail medical product that is expired or stolen; or(6) attempts or conspires to violate any of paragraphs (1) through (5);shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) and subject to the other sanctions provided in this section.(b)Aggravated Offenses.—An offense under this section is an aggravated offense if—(1) the defendant is employed by, or is an agent of, an organization in the supply chain for the pre-retail medical product; or(2) the violation—(A) involves the use of violence, force, or a threat of violence or force;(B) involves the use of a deadly weapon;(C) results in serious bodily injury or death, including serious bodily injury or death resulting from the use of the medical product involved; or(D) is subsequent to a prior conviction for an offense under this section.(c)Criminal Penalties.—Whoever violates subsection (a)—(1) if the offense is an aggravated offense under subsection (b)(2)(C), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both;(2) if the value of the medical products involved in the offense is $5,000 or greater, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both, but if the offense is an aggravated offense other than one under subsection (b)(2)(C), the maximum term of imprisonment is 20 years; and(3) in any other case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 3 years, or both, but if the offense is an aggravated offense other than one under subsection (b)(2)(C), the maximum term of imprisonment is 5 years.(d)Civil Penalties.—Whoever violates subsection (a) is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not more than the greater of—(1) three times the economic loss attributable to the violation; or(2) $1,000,000.(e)Definitions.—In this section—(1) the term “pre-retail medical product” means a medical product that has not yet been made available for retail purchase by a consumer;(2) the term “medical product” means a drug, biological product, device, medical food, or infant formula;(3) the terms “device”, “drug”, “infant formula”, and “labeling” have, respectively, the meanings given those terms in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;(4) the term “biological product” has the meaning given the term in section 351 of the Public Health Service Act;(5) the term “medical food” has the meaning given the term in section 5(b) of the Orphan Drug Act; and(6) the term “supply chain” includes manufacturer, wholesaler, repacker, own-labeled distributor, private-label distributor, jobber, broker, drug trader, transportation company, hospital, pharmacy, or security company.(Added Pub. L. 112–186, § 2(a), Oct. 5, 2012, 126 Stat. 1427.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

Section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, referred to in subsec. (e)(3), is classified to section 321 of Title 21, Food and Drugs.

Section 351 of the Public Health Service Act, referred to in subsec. (e)(4), is classified to section 262 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.

Section 5(b) of the Orphan Drug Act, referred to in subsec. (e)(5), is classified to section 360ee(b) of Title 21.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesPriority Given to Certain Investigations and Prosecutions

Pub. L. 112–186, § 4(e), Oct. 5, 2012, 126 Stat. 1429, provided that: “The Attorney General shall give increased priority to efforts to investigate and prosecute offenses under section 670 of title 18, United States Code, that involve pre-retail medical products.”

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2013–2026 · leading case: Roberts v. State, 847 S.E.2d 541 (Ga. 2020).
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Roberts v. State, 847 S.E.2d 541 (Ga. 2020). · cites it 10× “That offense, to which Roberts pled guilty in federal court on June 1, 2017, was for violating 18 USC § 670 (“Theft of medical products”).”
United States v. Timothy Ritchie, 858 F.3d 201 (4th Cir. 2017). · cites it 2× “§ 1365 ] (relating to tampering with consumer products); or (iv) an offense under [ 18 U.S.C. § 670 ] (relating to theft of medical products); and (B) in which an identifiable victim or victims has suffered a physical injury or pecuniary loss.”
United States v. Servando Alvarado-Casas, 715 F.3d 945 (5th Cir. 2013). “§ 351 (b); 18 U.S.C. § 670 (c)(1); 18 U.S.C. § 844 (d); 18 U.”
United States v. Xiulu Ruan, 966 F.3d 1101 (11th Cir. 2020). “§ 1365 ; or (4) an offense under 18 U.S.C. § 670 . Id. § 3663A(c)(1)(A)(i)–(iv).”
United States v. McCreless (5th Cir. 2024). · cites it 3× “1 if: his offense involved conduct described in 18 U.S.C. § 670 (prohibiting theft and illicit trafficking of pre-retail products); and he worked for an organization in the “supply chain” for a “pre-retail medical product”.”
United States v. Calh Holding Corp. (11th Cir. 2026). · cites it 3× “18 U.S.C. § 670 (a)(1). “Pre-retail medical product” means “a medical product that has not yet been made available for retail purchase by a consumer.”
United States v. Alvin Watts, III (5th Cir. 2020). “§§ 371 & 2; trafficking in stolen and embezzled pre-retail medical products, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 670 (a)(3), * Pursuant to 5TH CIR.”
Gallardo v. United States (D.N.M. 2020). “Gallardo also pled guilty to theft of medical products in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 670 , which was added by a separate Information.”
Gallardo v. United States (D.N.M. 2021). “Gallardo also pled guilty to theft of medical products in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 670 , which was added by a separate Information.”
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