Federal · Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

18 U.S.C. § 1518: Obstruction of criminal investigations of health care offenses

Felony

What this law says, in plain English

Federal law prohibits willfully obstructing, delaying, or misleading the communication of information about health care violations to authorized criminal investigators. Violation carries a fine and/or imprisonment up to 5 years.

Read the full statutory text

Whoever willfully prevents, obstructs, misleads, delays or attempts to prevent, obstruct, mislead, or delay the communication of information or records relating to a violation of a Federal health care offense to a criminal investigator shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. As used in this section the term “criminal investigator” means any individual duly authorized by a department, agency, or armed force of the United States to conduct or engage in investigations for prosecutions for violations of health care offenses.

Verify at the official source: Federal 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.