Exceptions to the Statute
The statute of limitation does have exceptions. Federal law says that the general 5-year statute of limitations applies in every case unless there is a specific code section that extends the statute of limitations for that particular offense. For capital crimes, such as the capital murder, there is no statute of limitations (
18 USC 3281). . Terrorism is also not subject to any statute of limitations where the offense caused death or serious bodily injury or harm (
18 USC 3286). Sexual offenses against children also have no statute of limitations (
18 USC 3283) .
Many
white collar crimes have their own statute of limitations. For example, an offense against the Internal Revenue Service is governed by
26 USC 6531 . Federal tax law states that charges for tax crimes such as tax evasion,
26 USC 7201 , failure to file a tax return,
26 USC 7203, must be filed within 6 years from the date of the offense.
Major fraud against the United States has certain conditions for the statute of limitations. The charge of major fraud against the US is established by
18 USC 1031 and must involve at a minimum 1,000,000. A person guilty of an offense where he knowingly defrauds the federal government in any grant, contract, loan, federal assistance, etc. is subject to 10 years in federal prison. The statute of limitations for major fraud against the United States is 7 years from the date that the crime was committed.
There are instances where the statute of limitations will be extended by the court after petition by the United States Attorney. These are some examples:
- Original charges were dismissed. 18 USC 3288 . Federal prosecutors can reinstate charges for an additional 6 months after the statute of limitations has run.
- The offense took place in a foreign country, or evidence is located in foreign territory. 18 USC 3292 .
For Immigration offenses, federal law extends the statute of limitations from 5 years to 10 for the following offenses:
- Using false or fraudulent citizenship papers. 18 USC 1423 .
- Impersonating another as an applicant, declarant, petitioner, or witness in citizenship or naturalization proceedings. 18 USC 1424 .
- Obtaining citizenship or naturalization illegally. 18 USC 1425 .
- Manufacture, sale, distribution, or reproduction of false, forged, fraudulent, or counterfeit citizenship or naturalization papers. 18 USC 1426 .
- Sale of otherwise legal naturalization or citizenship papers. 18 USC 1427 .
- Failing to surrender canceled naturalization certificate. 18 USC 1428 .
- Issuing a passport without authority. 18 USC 1541 .
- Making a false statement in an application for a passport. 18 USC 1542 .
- Falsifying, forging, counterfeiting, mutilating, or altering a passport. 18 USC 1543 .
- Using a passport belonging to another person. 18 USC 1544 .
The statute of limitations for banks and other financial institutions is 10 years for the following offenses:
- Bank fraud (scheme or artifice to defraud a financial institution). 18 USC 1344.
- Mail fraud (using the mails for a scheme or artifice to defraud). 18 USC 1341 .
- Wire fraud (using wire, radio, or television in a scheme or artifice to defraud). 18 USC 1343 .
- Violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 USC 1962 , that is predicated on bank fraud under 18 USC 1344 .
- Receipt of commissions or gifts for procuring loans. 18 USC 215 .
- Theft, embezzlement, or misapplication by bank officer or employee. 18 USC 656 .
- Embezzling funds from a federal financial institution. 18 USC 657 .
- Falsifying bank records (reports, entries or transactions). 18 USC 1005 .
- Falsifying records of a federal financial institution (reports, entries or transactions) 18 USC 1006 .
- Falsifying, forging, or counterfeiting a statement to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). 18 USC 1007 .
- Making a false statement or report, or overvaluing assets for a federal loan 18 USC 1014 .
- Making a false statement or report, or overvaluing assets as it relates to insurance and a financial institution. 18 USC 1033 .
- Major fraud against the United States. 18 USC 1031
Conspiracy crimes have a very different statute of limitations in comparison with other crimes. For instance, in conspiracies prosecuted under 18 USC 371 involving a conspiracy to commit a federal offense or to defraud the United States, the statute begins to run on the date that the last act that was a part of the conspiracy was taken. The same applies to conspiracies to defraud the federal government by making fabricated claims under 18 USC 286 , and drug trafficking 21 USC 846 .
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