U.S. Code » Title 42 » Chapter CHAPTER 7— SOCIAL SECURITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER XI— GENERAL PROVISIONS, PEER REVIEW, AND ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLIFICATION › Part Part A— General Provisions

42 U.S.C. § 1307

Penalty for fraud

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(a) Whoever, with the intent to defraud any person, shall make or cause to be made any false representation concerning the requirements of this chapter, of chapter 2, 21, or 23 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or of any provision of subtitle F of such Code which corresponds (within the meaning of section 7852(b) of such Code) to a provision contained in subchapter E of chapter 9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, or of any rules or regulations issued thereunder, knowing such representations to be false, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.(b) Whoever, with the intent to elicit information as to the social security account number, date of birth, employment, wages, or benefits of any individual (1) falsely represents to the Commissioner of Social Security or the Secretary that he is such individual, or the wife, husband, widow, widower, divorced wife, divorced husband, surviving divorced wife, surviving divorced husband, surviving divorced mother, surviving divorced father, child, or parent of such individual, or the duly authorized agent of such individual, or of the wife, husband, widow, widower, divorced wife, divorced husband, surviving divorced wife, surviving divorced husband, surviving divorced mother, surviving divorced father, child, or parent of such individual, or (2) falsely represents to any person that he is an employee or agent of the United States, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $10,000 for each occurrence of a violation, or by imprisonment not exceeding 5 years, or both.(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title XI, § 1107, as added Aug. 10, 1939, ch. 666, title VIII, § 802, 53 Stat. 1398; amended Aug. 28, 1950, ch. 809, title IV, § 403(e), (f), 64 Stat. 560; Pub. L. 98–369, div. B, title VI, § 2663(e)(2)(A), (3), (j)(2)(D)(iii), (l)(1), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1168, 1170, 1171; Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095; Pub. L. 103–296, title I, § 108(b)(6), title III, § 313(b), Aug. 15, 1994, 108 Stat. 1482, 1530.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

Subchapter E of chapter 9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, referred to in subsec. (a), was comprised of sections 1631 to 1636 of the 1939 Code, and was repealed (subject to certain exceptions) by section 7851(a)(1)(A), (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, Title 26. The Internal Revenue Code of 1954 was redesignated the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095. For table of comparisons of the 1939 Code to the 1986 Code, see Table I preceding section 1 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. See also section 7852(b) of Title 26 for provision that references in any other law to a provision of the 1939 Code, unless expressly incompatible with the intent thereof, shall be deemed a reference to the corresponding provision of the 1986 Code.

For provision deeming a reference in other laws to a provision of the 1939 Code as a reference to the corresponding provisions of the 1986 Code, see section 7852(b) of the 1986 Code. For table of comparisons of the 1939 Code to the 1986 Code, see table preceding section 1 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is classified generally to Title 26.

Amendments

1994—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–296, § 313(b), inserted “social security account number,” after “information as to the” and substituted “felony” for “misdemeanor”, “$10,000 for each occurrence of a violation” for “$1,000”, and “5 years” for “one year”.

Pub. L. 103–296, § 108(b)(6), which directed that subsec. (b) be amended by substituting “the Commissioner of Social Security or the Secretary” for “the Secretary of Health and Human Services”, was executed by making the substitution for “the Secretary” to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

1986—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted “Internal Revenue Code of 1986” for “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”.

1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–369, § 2663(e)(2)(A), substituted “of chapter 2, 21, or 23 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, or of any provision of subtitle F of such Code which corresponds (within the meaning of section 7852(b) of such Code) to a provision contained in subchapter E of chapter 9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939,” for “subchapter E of chapter 1 or subchapter A, C, or E of chapter 9 of the Internal Revenue Code [of 1939]”.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–369, § 2663(l)(1), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator”.

Pub. L. 98–369, § 2663(j)(2)(D)(iii), which directed the substitution of “Health and Human Services” for “Health, Education, and Welfare” could not be executed because “Health, Education, and Welfare” did not appear in text.

Pub. L. 98–369, § 2663(e)(3), substituted “divorced wife, divorced husband, surviving divorced wife, surviving divorced husband, surviving divorced mother, surviving divorced father,” for “former wife divorced,” in two places.

1950—Subsec. (a). Act Aug. 28, 1950, § 403(e), substituted “subchapter E of chapter 1 or subchapter A, C, or E of chapter 9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939,” for “the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, or the Federal Unemployment Tax Act,”.

Subsec. (b). Act Aug. 28, 1950, § 403(f), substituted “Administrator” for “Board” and “wife, husband, widow, widower, former wife divorced, child, or parent” for “wife, parent, or child” wherever appearing.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1994 Amendment

Amendment by section 108(b)(6) of Pub. L. 103–296 effective Mar. 31, 1995, see section 110(a) of Pub. L. 103–296, set out as a note under section 401 of this title.

Amendment by section 313(b) of Pub. L. 103–296 applicable to violations occurring on or after Aug. 15, 1994, see section 313(c) of Pub. L. 103–296, set out as a note under section 1306 of this title.

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Pub. L. 98–369, div. B, title VI, § 2663(e)(2)(B), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1168, provided that: “The amendment made by subparagraph (A) [amending this section] shall not apply to returns filed or representations made on or before the date of the enactment of this Act [July 18, 1984].”

Amendment by section 2663(e)(3), (j)(2)(D)(iii), (l)(1) of Pub. L. 98–369 effective July 18, 1984, but not to be construed as changing or affecting any right, liability, status, or interpretation which existed (under the provisions of law involved) before that date, see section 2664(b) of Pub. L. 98–369, set out as a note under section 401 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1973–2025 · leading case: United States v. Joseph D. Beasley, M.D., United States of Am. v. Oscar E. Kramer, Jr., 550 F.2d 261 (5th Cir. 1977).
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United States v. Joseph D. Beasley, M.D., United States of Am. v. Oscar E. Kramer, Jr., 550 F.2d 261 (5th Cir. 1977). “That structure “does not affect, and it certainly does not even purport to suspend, the criminal laws of the United States.”
United States v. Harrell, 637 F.3d 1008 (9th Cir. 2011). “In addition, as the Government contends in its briefs, to accord the parenthetical a limiting effect would render Congress’ inclusion of 42 U.S.C. § 1307 (b) a superfluous nullity as that section does not “relat[e] to false statements relating to programs tender the Act” — much…”
United States v. James E. Barrington, 662 F.2d 1046 (4th Cir. 1981). · cites it 2× “The charges were misdemeanors: Count I, 42 U.S.C. § 1307 (a) (Welfare Fraud), maximum penalty one year and $1,000; Count II, 7 U.”
Nurses' Registry & Home Health Corp. v. Burwell (In re Nurses' Registry & Home Health Corp.), 533 B.R. 590 (Bankr. E.D. Ky. 2015). “The first example is a DRA amendment to 42 U.S.C. § 1307 , which at the time made it a crime to impersonate, inter alia, a “former wife divorced” of a Social Security beneficiary for purposes of obtaining the beneficiary’s Social Security number or information about his…”
Rush v. Smith, 573 F.2d 110 (2d Cir. 1978). “2 The commission of fraud with respect to any of the programs under the Act is made a misdemeanor by 42 U.S.C. § 1307 . Pursuant to § 1302, the Act’s general authorization for agency rulemaking, the Secretary has adopted 45 C.”
Jackson v. O'Bannon, 633 F.2d 329 (3rd Cir. 1980). “42 U.S.C. § 1307 (1976). See Rush v. Smith, 573 F.”
Manigault v. Spry (N.D.N.Y. 2024). · cites it 2× “§ 408 ; 42 U.S.C. § 1307 (a); 42 U.S.C. § 1383a; 42 U.”
Bowles v. United States (Fed. Cir. 2025). · cites it 2× “US 3 provisions covered a statute regarding social security fraud with no private right of action, 42 U.S.C. § 1307 , civil rights statutes without money-mandating provisions concerning the United States, 42 U.”
United States v. McDaniels, 355 F. Supp. 1082 (E.D. La. 1973). “mere fishing expedition, the defendants argue that this is the first and only federal prosecution of alleged welfare fraud by indictment under the mail fraud statutes in the history of the welfare program; the felony prosecutions were brought under the mail fraud statutes…”
Christen Erika Johnson v. Capital One Bank (Usa) N.A. (D.D.C. 2022). “¶¶ 32–33 (citing 12 U.S.C. §§ 5533 5536), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, see id.”
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