California · Financial Code

FIN §5303: Any officer, director, employee, or agent of any association who (a) willfully makes or knowingly concurs in the making or publishing of a false or untrue material entry in any book, record, report, s

Felony

What this law says, in plain English

Officers, directors, employees, or agents of associations who willfully make false entries, omit required entries, or destroy records with intent to deceive regulators or examiners face fines up to $1 million and 2–4 years imprisonment.

Read the full statutory text
Any officer, director, employee, or agent of any association who (a) willfully makes or knowingly concurs in the making or publishing of a false or untrue material entry in any book, record, report, statement concerning the business or affairs of the association, or statement of condition or in connection with any transaction of the association, with intent to deceive any officer or director thereof, or with intent to deceive any agency or examiner, whether private or public, employed or lawfully appointed to examine into the association’s condition or to examine into any of the association’s affairs or transactions, or with intent to deceive any public officer, office, or board to which the association is required by law to report or that has authority by law to examine into the association’s affairs or transactions, (b) with like intent, willfully omits to make a material new entry of any matter particularly pertaining to the business, property, condition, affairs, transactions, assets, or accounts of the association in any appropriate book, record, report, or statement of the association, which entry is required to be made by law or generally accepted accounting principles applicable to a savings institution, or (c) with like intent, willfully alters, abstracts, conceals, refuses to allow to be inspected by the commissioner or the commissioner’s deputies or examiners, or destroys any books, records, reports, or statements of the association made, written, or kept, or required to be made, written, or kept by him or her or under his or her direction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one million dollars ($1,000,000), by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for two, three, or four years, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

Verify at the official source: California legislative text

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.