19 U.S.C. § 1619

Award of compensation to informers

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(a) In generalIf—(1) any person who is not an employee or officer of the United States—(A) detects and seizes any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage subject to seizure and forfeiture under the customs laws or the navigation laws and reports such detection and seizure to a customs officer, or(B) furnishes to a United States attorney, the Secretary of the Treasury, or any customs officer original information concerning—(i) any fraud upon the customs revenue, or(ii) any violation of the customs laws or the navigation laws which is being, or has been, perpetrated or contemplated by any other person; and(2) such detection and seizure or such information leads to a recovery of—(A) any duties withheld, or(B) any fine, penalty, or forfeiture of property incurred;the Secretary may award and pay such person an amount that does not exceed 25 percent of the net amount so recovered.(b) Forfeited property not soldIf—(1) any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage is forfeited to the United States and is thereafter, in lieu of sale—(A) destroyed under the customs or navigation laws, or(B) delivered to any governmental agency for official use, and(2) any person would be eligible to receive an award under subsection (a) but for the lack of sale of such forfeited property,the Secretary may award and pay such person an amount that does not exceed 25 percent of the appraised value of such forfeited property.(c) Dollar limitation

The amount awarded and paid to any person under this section may not exceed $250,000 for any case.

(d) Source of payment

Unless otherwise provided by law, any amount paid under this section shall be paid out of appropriations available for the collection of the customs revenue.

(e) Recovery of bail bond

For purposes of this section, an amount recovered under a bail bond shall be deemed a recovery of a fine incurred.

(June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 619, 46 Stat. 758; Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title III, § 305, 49 Stat. 527; Pub. L. 98–473, title II, §§ 319, 321, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2056; Pub. L. 98–573, title II, § 213(a)(15), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2988; Pub. L. 99–570, title III, § 3125, Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207–88.)Editorial NotesPrior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 619, 42 Stat. 988. That section was superseded by section 619 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.

Provisions somewhat similar to those in this section, but applicable in part to any officer of the customs or other person, were contained in act June 22, 1874, ch. 391, § 4, 18 Stat. 186. Section 3 of the 1874 act required the Secretary of the Treasury to make suitable compensation in certain cases, as thereinafter provided, made an appropriation and required payments to be reported to Congress. Section 6 required claims to compensation to be established to the satisfaction of the court or judge, and required satisfactory proof when the fine, etc., was collected without judicial proceedings. All of these sections were repealed by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 643, 42 Stat. 989.

Section 2 of the act of June 22, 1874, ch. 391, repealed all provisions under which moieties of fines, etc., were paid to informers, etc., and required the proceeds of all fines, penalties, and forfeitures to be paid into the Treasury. This last provision was omitted from the Code as superseded by section 527 of this title (act Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2918, § 1, 34 Stat. 1315).

Section 26 of that Act repealed inconsistent laws and saved existing rights. It was omitted from the Code as temporary and executed.

R.S. § 2948, providing that additional duties were not to be deemed fines, etc., for distribution to customs officers, became inoperative by the repeal of all provisions for payment of moieties of fines, etc., to informers or officers, by the act of June 2, 1874, ch. 391, § 2, and was repealed by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 642, 42 Stat. 989.

An appropriation for compensation in lieu of moieties was made by act Mar. 2, 1926, ch. 43, § 1, 44 Stat. 141. Similar appropriations were contained in prior acts.

Amendments

1986—Pub. L. 99–570 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “Any person not an officer of the United States who detects and seizes any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage subject to seizure and forfeiture under the customs laws or the navigation laws, and who reports the same to an officer of the customs, or who furnishes to a United States attorney, to the Secretary of the Treasury, or to any customs officer original information concerning any fraud upon the customs revenue, or a violation of the customs laws or the navigation laws, perpetrated or contemplated, which detection and seizure or information leads to a recovery of any duties withheld, or of any fine, penalty, or forfeiture incurred, may be awarded and paid by the Secretary of the Treasury a compensation of 25 per centum of the net amount recovered, but not to exceed $250,000 in any case, which shall be paid out of any appropriations available for the collection of the revenue from customs. For the purposes of this section an amount recovered under a bail bond shall be deemed a recovery of a fine incurred. If any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage is forfeited to the United States, and is thereafter, in lieu of sale, destroyed under the customs or navigation laws or delivered to any governmental agency for official use, compensation of 25 per centum of the appraised value thereof may be awarded and paid by the Secretary of the Treasury under the provisions of this section, but not to exceed $250,000 in any case. In no event shall the Secretary delegate the authority to pay an award under this section in excess of $10,000 to an official below the level of the Commissioner of Customs.”

1984—Pub. L. 98–573, § 213(a)(15)(A), and Pub. L. 98–473, § 321, inserted reference to aircraft in two places.

Pub. L. 98–573, § 213(a)(15)(B), substituted “$250,000” for “$50,000” in two places.

Pub. L. 98–473, § 319(a), substituted “$150,000” for “$50,000”.

Pub. L. 98–473, § 319(b), inserted “In no event shall the Secretary delegate the authority to pay an award under this section in excess of $10,000 to an official below the level of the Commissioner of Customs.”

1935—Act Aug. 5, 1935, inserted “or the navigation laws” after “customs laws”, and provisions authorizing award of compensation of 25 per centum of the appraised value, but not to exceed $50,000 in any case.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1984 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 98–573 effective Oct. 15, 1984, see section 214(e) of Pub. L. 98–573, set out as a note under section 1304 of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 76 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1941–2025 · leading case: John Doe v. United States, 100 F.3d 1576 (Fed. Cir. 1996).

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John Doe v. United States, 100 F.3d 1576 (Fed. Cir. 1996). · cites it 12× “§ 1491 (1994), over an informant’s claim for a reward under 19 U.S.C. § 1619 (1994) following certain amendments to that statute in 1986.”

Lewis v. United States, 32 Fed. Cl. 59 (Fed. Cl. 1994). · cites it 17× “Lewis, filed a complaint on October 7, 1992, pursuant to Section 619 of the Tariff Act of 1930 ( 19 U.S.C. § 1619 ). Plaintiff alleges that he provided information to defendant, the United States, which operates the United States Customs Service (hereinafter “Customs”) on…”

White & Case LLP v. United States, 67 Fed. Cl. 164 (Fed. Cl. 2005). · cites it 15× “The plaintiff, White & Case LLP, filed a complaint in this Court asserting that it is entitled to an informant’s award, pursuant to 19 U.S.C § 1619, for original information it provided defendant United States (“Government”) regarding the importation of brake rotors from China…”

Allen v. United States, 229 Ct. Cl. 515 (Ct. Cl. 1981). · cites it 19× “These other provisions include 19 U.S.C. § 1619 . Under that section, Any person not an officer of the United States * * * who furnishes * * * original information [leading to a] forfeiture * * * may be awarded * * * a compensation of 25 per centum of the net amount recovered…”

United States v. Sabulon Cardenas Cuellar, 96 F.3d 1179 (9th Cir. 1996). · cites it 9× “” In return, Garavito agreed to forfeit his right to apply for an award under 19 U.S.C. § 1619 2 in specific cases where POI/POE was paid.”

Anthony Perri (Also Known as Anthony Marino) v. United States, 340 F.3d 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2003). · cites it 4× “Prior to 1986, the statute provided that someone who furnished the Secretary of the Treasury or a “Customs officer original information concerning any fraud upon the customs revenue, or a violation of the customs laws or the navigation laws, perpetrated or contemplated, which…”

Hoch v. United States, 33 Fed. Cl. 39 (Fed. Cl. 1995). · cites it 11× “at 519 (holding that 19 U.S.C. § 1619 (1976), was money-mandating); Tyson v.”

James L. Lewis v. United States, 70 F.3d 597 (Fed. Cir. 1995). · cites it 3× “Lewis alleges that the Customs Service agreed to pay his expenses in connection with the investigation and ultimately to provide him with an award for his services under 19 U.S.C. § 1619 . No award was ever paid, because the investigation was terminated without any arrests being…”

Nicolas v. United States, 35 Fed. Cl. 387 (Fed. Cl. 1996). · cites it 12× “To explain: Plaintiff’s claim for compensation is based on the informer award provision of the customs laws, 19 U.S.C. § 1619 (1994). In its motion to dismiss, however, defendant does not assert that a claim based on that provision lies outside the court’s jurisdiction.”

Doe v. United States, 16 Cl. Ct. 412 (Ct. Cl. 1989). · cites it 8× “§ 1324 (1982) and 19 U.S.C. § 1619 (Supp. II 1984). The claim was settled by stipulation, and judgment for plaintiff in the amount of $250,000 was ordered on July 29, 1988.”

SKF USA, Inc. v. United States Customs & Border Prot., 556 F.3d 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2009). · cites it 2× “§ 7623 (awarding a portion of the collected proceeds to whistleblowers who assist the Internal Revenue Service in detecting tax underpayments); 19 U.S.C. § 1619 (allowing compensation of informers who help enforce the customs laws).”

Doe v. United States, 54 Fed. Cl. 337 (Fed. Cl. 2002). · cites it 6× “1 Plaintiff herein alleges that as the prevailing party in the underlying cause of action, an informant’s award claim under 19 U.S.C. § 1619 , 2 he is *338 now entitled to an award of the attending attorney fees and expenses.”

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— 19 U.S.C. § 1619(c) — 1 case

Auth. of the Customs Serv. to Offer Rewards for Info. Concerning the Whereabouts of Indicted Drug Traffickers (OLC 1989).

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