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SEC. 208. [42 U.S.C. 408] (a)
Whoever—
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- (1) for the purpose of causing an increase in any payment
authorized to be made under this title, or for the purpose of causing any
payment to be made where no payment is authorized under this title, shall
make or cause to be made any false statement or representation (including
any false statement or representation in connection with any matter arising
under subchapter E of chapter 1, or subchapter A or E of chapter 9 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1939[118],
or chapter 2 or 21 or subtitle F of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954[119])
as to—
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- (A) whether wages were paid or received for employment
(as said terms are defined in this title and the Internal Revenue Code),
or the amount of wages or the period during which paid or the person to
whom paid; or
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- (B) whether net earnings from self-employment (as
such term is defined in this title and in the Internal Revenue Code) were
derived, or as to the amount of such net earnings or the period during
which or the person by whom derived; or
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- (C) whether a person entitled to benefits under this
title had earnings in or for a particular period (as determined under
section 203(f) of this title for purposes of
deductions from benefits), or as to the amount thereof; or
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- (2) makes or causes to be made any false statement or
representation of a material fact in any application for any payment or for
a disability determination under this title; or
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- (3) at any time makes or causes to be made any false statement
or representation of a material fact for use in determining rights to payment
under this title; or
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- (4) having knowledge of the occurrence of any event affecting
(1) his initial or continued right to any payment under this title, or (2)
the initial or continued right to any payment of any other individual in whose
behalf he has applied for or is receiving such payment, conceals or fails
to disclose such event with an intent fraudulently to secure payment either
in a greater amount than is due or when no payment is authorized; or
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- (5) having made application to receive payment under this
title for the use and benefit of another and having received such a payment,
knowingly and willfully converts such a payment, or any part thereof, to a
use other than for the use and benefit of such other person; or
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- (6) willfully, knowingly, and with intent to deceive the
Commissioner of Social Security as to his true identity (or the true identity
of any other person) furnishes or causes to be furnished false information
to the Commissioner of Social Security with respect to any information required
by the Commissioner of Social Security in connection with the establishment
and maintenance of the records provided for in section 205(c)(2);
or
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- (7) for the purpose of causing an increase in any payment
authorized under this title (or any other program financed in whole or in
part from Federal funds), or for the purpose of causing a payment under this
title (or any such other program) to be made when no payment is authorized
thereunder, or for the purpose of obtaining (for himself or any other person)
any payment or any other benefit to which he (or such other person) is not
entitled, or for the purpose of obtaining anything of value from any person,
or for any other purpose—
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- (A) willfully, knowingly, and with intent to deceive,
uses a social security account number, assigned by the Commissioner of
Social Security (in the exercise of the Commissioner's authority under
section 205(c)(2) to establish and maintain
records) on the basis of false information furnished to the Commissioner
of Social Security by him or by any other person; or
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- (B) with intent to deceive, falsely represents a
number to be the social security account number assigned by the Commissioner
of Social Security to him or to another person, when in fact such number
is not the social security account number assigned by the Commissioner
of Social Security to him or to such other person; or
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- (C) knowingly alters a social security card issued
by the Commissioner of Social Security, buys or sells a card that is,
or purports to be, a card so issued, counterfeits a social security card,
or possesses a social security card or counterfeit social security card
with intent to sell or alter it; or
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- (8) discloses, uses, or compels the disclosure of the
social security number of any person in violation of the laws of the United
States;
shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined under
title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or
both.
(b)[120](1)Any Federal court,
when sentencing a defendant convicted of an offense under subsection (a), may
order, in addition to or in lieu of any other penalty authorized by law, that
the defendant make restitution to the victims of such offense specified in paragraph
(4).
(2) Sections 3612, 3663, and 3664 of title 18, United States
Code, shall apply with respect to the issuance and enforcement of orders of
restitution to victims of such offense under this subsection.
(3) If the court does not order restitution, or orders only
partial restitution, under this subsection, the court shall state on the record
the reasons therefor.
(4) For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), the victims of
an offense under subsection (a) are the following:
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- (A) Any individual who suffers a financial loss as a
result of the defendant's violation of subsection (a).
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- (B) The Commissioner of Social Security, to the extent
that the defendant's violation of subsection (a) results in—
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- (i) the Commissioner of Social Security making a benefit payment that
should not have been made; or
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- (ii) an individual suffering a financial loss due to the defendant's
violation of subsection (a) in his or her capacity as the individual's
representative payee appointed pursuant to section 205(j).
(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), funds paid to the Commissioner of Social Security as restitution pursuant
to a court order shall be deposited in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Trust Fund, or the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, as appropriate.
(B) In the case of funds paid to the Commissioner of Social
Security pursuant to paragraph (4)(B)(ii), the Commissioner of Social Security
shall certify for payment to the individual described in such paragraph an amount
equal to the lesser of the amount of the funds so paid or the individual's outstanding
financial loss, except that such amount may be reduced by the amount of any
overpayments of benefits owed under this title, title VIII, or title XVI by
the individual.
(c) Any person or other entity who is convicted of a violation
of any of the provisions of this section, if such violation is committed by
such person or entity in his role as, or in applying to become, a certified
payee under section 205(j) on behalf of another individual
(other than such person's spouse), upon his second or any subsequent such conviction
shall, in lieu of the penalty set forth in the preceding provisions of this
section, be guilty of a felony and shall be fined under title 18, United States
Code, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. In the case of any
violation described in the preceding sentence, including a first such violation,
if the court determines that such violation includes a willful misuse of funds
by such person or entity, the court may also require that full or partial restitution
of such funds be made to the individual for whom such person or entity was the
certified payee.
(d) Any individual or entity convicted of a felony under this
section or under section 1632(b) may not
be certified as a payee under section 205(j). For the
purpose of subsection (a)(7), the terms “social security number”
and “social security account number” mean such numbers as are assigned
by the Commissioner of Social Security under section 205(c)(2)
whether or not, in actual use, such numbers are called social security numbers.
(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2),
an alien—
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- (A) whose status is adjusted to that of lawful temporary
resident under section 210 or 245A of the Immigration
and Nationality Act or under section 902 of the Foreign Relations Authorization
Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989,
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- (B) whose status is adjusted to that of permanent resident—
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- (i) under section 202 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of
1986, or
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- (ii) pursuant to section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act,
or
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- (C) who is granted special immigrant status under section
101(a)(27)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,
shall not be subject to prosecution for any alleged conduct described in paragraph
(6) or (7) of subsection (a) if such conduct is alleged to have occurred prior
to 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act of 1990.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to conduct
(described in subsection (a)(7)(C)) consisting of—
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- (A) selling a card that is, or purports to be, a social
security card issued by the Commissioner of Social Security,
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- (B) possessing a social security card with intent to
sell it, or
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- (C) counterfeiting a social security card with intent
to sell it.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to any criminal
conduct involving both the conduct described in subsection (a)(7) to which paragraph
(1) applies and any other criminal conduct if such other conduct would be criminal
conduct if the conduct described in subsection (a)(7) were not committed.