Title 18 of the United States Code is the criminal and penal code of the federal government of the United States. It deals with federal crimes and criminal procedure. According to 18 USC Criminal Code the following crimes are considered federal of nature:
- Aircraft and Motor Vehicle Crimes – Aircraft and motor vehicle crimes include destruction of the vehicles and operating these vehicles under impairment. Threats, drive by shootings, or interference with air traffic signals are included under this heading.
- Animal, Birds, Fish and Plants Crimes – Animal, birds, fish and plants crimes are defined by the unlawful removal, transportation, harm, or destruction of any of these entities. This can include smuggling of wildlife and plants and abuse of living non-human beings.
- Arson – Arson is the willful and malicious act of setting a fire to any property or structure. It is a felony with two degrees, where first degree arson includes harming or killing a person, and second degree includes damages to property.
- Assualt – Assault is an act which threatens to physically harm a person. This can include verbal intimidation and creating situations which cause fear in the other individual, but does not involve physically touching the other person.
- Bankruptcy Fraud – Bankruptcy fraud is the untruthful claim of lack of funds in order to avoid payment of debts. It also includes untruthfulness about lack of funds in order to create a financial gain.
- Embezzlement – Embezzlement is a form of theft that involves hiding money or secretly taking assets from another person or business without the other party’s knowledge that funds are being misappropriated.
- Biological Weapons – Biological weapons are any germ based agents and dispersal systems that are maliciously intended for causing toxicity, harm, or death to persons, animals or plants.
- Bribery, Graft, Conflicts of Interest – Bribery is the use of incentive to sway the opinion or decision of an authority. Graft is the use of authority to unscrupulously create personal gain. Conflicts of interest are when personal bias can interfere with objective decisions or actions.
- Child Support – Child support is money that is paid to the person responsible for the upbringing of a child and is meant for the benefit of the child’s well being.
- Civil Rights – Civil Rights are the privileges that are afforded to each individual under Constitutional Law. These include, but are not limited to, life, liberty, wellbeing, and freedom.
- Coins and Currency – Coins and currency refers to any money that is used as legal tender to perform a business, private, or corporate transaction in which fees are exchanged.
- Claims and Services Affecting Government – Claims and services affecting the Government are legal assertions against a federal entity. This can include taking legal action to defraud the government and solicitation of unapproved fees or compensation.
- Conspiracy to Defraud the Government – Conspiracy to defraud the Government is an agreement between multiple parties to make false claims or assertions against federal entities for the purpose of personal gain.
- False Claims for Postal Losses – False claims for postal losses are the misrepresentations of damage, injury, or disappearance of an insured letter or parcel that requires monetary compensation for the deficit.
- False Claims for Pensions – False claims for pensions are when a person presents fraudulent or fictitious documentation in order to gain monetary gain from the disbursement of pension funds. This can include identity theft and making claims on a person who is already deceased.
- Common Carrier Operation Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol – Common carrier operation under the influence of drugs or alcohol is when an individual drives or pilots a vehicle that is commercially designed to accommodate passengers, while that operating individual is impaired by alcohol or other chemical substances.
- Congressional, Cabinet, US Supreme Court Assassination, Kidnapping and Assault – Congressional, Cabinet, US Supreme Court members are individuals who serve the federal government in their appointed posts. The assassination, kidnapping, and assault upon any of these individuals includes causing death, abducting against one’s will, or generating threats of bodily harm to these federal civil servants.
- Conspiracy – Conspiracy is a plan made with another individual or group of individuals for the purpose of committing a criminal act. Even if the crime is never carried out, the act of planning the crime is still a crime.
- Contempts – Contempts are willful acts of disrespect against a legal authority. This can include disobedience and the refusal to carry out the requests of the authority or disregard of legal rulings.
- Contracts – Contracts are legal agreements between two parties that legally bind the parties to do what has been agreed upon in the documentation. Parties may be individuals, businesses, governments, or national entities.
- Counterfeiting – Counterfeiting and forgery refers to the falsification of legal or official documents, and may include official records, currency, contracts, or any other authorized paperwork that has been manipulated or unlawfully duplicated.
- Criminal Street Gangs – Criminal Street Gangs are groups, organization, or clubs that are comprised of five or more people and are continuously engaged in activities that are considered illegal, especially for purposes of personal gain.
- Customs – Customs refers to an official department of the government that is in charge of collecting any taxes or levies that may be imposed upon goods that are transported between countries and states.
- Drug Trafficking – Drug trafficking is the act of importing or exporting illegal substances for the purpose of public distribution and sale. This can include cultivation and manufacture of substances that are subject to laws of prohibition.
- Elections and Political Activities – Elections are publicly held polls that take a consensus vote for the appointment of an individual to an official position. Political activities include any action that is intended to promote the success or failure of a political party or candidate.
- Theft and Embezzlement – Theft and embezzlement are forms of robbery where an individual or individuals take possessions, currency, or items from another person without that person’s permission or knowledge.
- Theft of Public Money, Property and Records – Theft of public money, property, and records refers to the unlawful appropriation of currency, items, and documentation that is intended for community distribution or allocation, and is then used for the purposes of personal gain.
- Theft and Embezzlement by Bank Officer – Theft and embezzlement by bank officer is when an employee of the depository steals or conceals funds that are not legally theirs. This can include falsifying documents in order to obtain funds, or physically removing tender from the institution.
- Theft or Embezzlement from Employee Benefit Plan – Theft or embezzlement from an employee benefit plan is the willful and illegal appropriation of funds, money, or securities from a fund that is intended to for employee well fare.
- Theft or Bribery of Monies from Federal Funds – Theft or bribery of monies from Federal funds includes stealing currency from allocated government programs or using these assets to solicit personal favor and buy support through reward.
- Theft of Major Artwork – Theft of major artwork is the robbery of any item that is owned by a museum which publicly displays the piece, or an item that is culturally significant and is in the care of a designated staff or overseer.
- Theft of Livestock – Theft of livestock is the unlawful attainment of animals that are raised for profit by another party. The theft can extend for the use of the appropriated animals for personal gain through sale or trade.
- Emblems, Insignia and Names – Emblems are official representations of specific companies and institutions. Insignias are badges or signs of official membership and rank in particular groups, and names are legally copyrighted and publically recognized identification of organizations.
- Escape and Rescue – Escape and rescue are acts which lead to the flight of a prisoner or person in custody from the holding facility that detains them. Rescue is the act of aiding the fleeing prisoner in their attempt at freedom.
- Espionage and Censorship -Espionage is the act of obtaining information for purposes of undermining governments or institutions, and censorship refers to the suppression of information either by a federal institution or private organization.
- Explosives and Other Dangerous Articles – Explosives are any items which may spontaneously or actively incinerate and disperse. Other dangerous articles include flammable, toxic, and nuclear material that can cause general harm if mishandled.
- Importation, Manufacture and Distribution of Explosive Materials – Importation, manufacture, and distribution of explosive materials is the trafficking of incendiary items, which can include moving these products across country and state lines. Manufacturing and distributing explosives is the creation of these devices for the purpose of sale for financial gain.
- Extortion and Threats – Extortion refers to the use of force or blackmail to unlawfully obtain personal gain from another individual or organized entity. Threats are communicated acts of violence which are intended to generate fear in the recipient.
- Extortionate Credit Transactions – Extortionate credit transactions are also referred to as loan sharking. This is the use of unlawful interest accumulation to gain greater funds from the borrower through threat and harassment.
- False Personation – False personation is when an individual misrepresent their identity. This can include the theft of the identity of another or the creation of non-existent personal that is then adopted as one’s own.
- Firearms – Firearms are weapons that may be carried upon the person and propel projectiles which cause harm or death to other people, properties, or animals. They are regulated by the government and may be considered legal if they are registered and carried by a licensed holder.
- Foreign Relations – Foreign relations refer to interactions with individuals, institutions, or organizations of a different national origin. They may include negotiations, contracts, or treaties that establish agreements and connections between nations.
- Forfeiture – Forfeiture is the act of giving up an item, property, right, or freedom due to legal action or as a result of penalty for illegal activities and wrong doing.
- Forgery – Forgery is the illegal copy of any printed material or art work for the purpose of passing it off as genuine for the eventual attainment of personal gain.
- General Fraud and False Statements – General fraud is deception that is deliberate intended to misinform another person or persons and often malicious, while false statements are lies which perpetuate untruths regarding a person or situation.
- Mail Fraud – Mail fraud is the use of correspondence and the postal system to swindle and deceive another person or organization for the purpose of financial and personal gain.
- Computer Fraud – Computer fraud can include the use of false statements through electronic correspondence to obtain money from another person through illegal means. It can also include the use of electronics to access information that can be used for deception.
- Credit Card Fraud – Credit card fraud is the illegal use of another person’s information for the purpose making financial gains through false loans and purchases. This can also include fictitious claims of unauthorized credit card use so that the cardholder avoids making payment on purchases.
- Wire Fraud – Wire fraud involves electronic communications or use of a communications facility to develop a plan of falsehood and deceptions in order to misrepresent such situations as investments in order to illegally obtain money.
- Insurance Fraud – Insurance fraud is the falsification of information to gain insurance benefits through unlawful means. This can include overestimation of losses in cases of home insurance and misrepresentation of injury in cases of life or health insurance.
- Health Care Fraud – Health care fraud can include the falsification of injury or treatment claims in order to receive a higher monetary compensation than the services or care that is actually performed.
- Medicare Fraud – Medicare fraud is a type of healthcare fraud where provider use false billing codes in order to obtain a greater return from the insurance provider, or falsifying reports to reflect a higher cost treatment than the one provided.
- Medicaid Fraud – Medicaid fraud can include the scheduling of unnecessary test or extraneous referrals in order to receive a greater insurance pay out, as well as charging separately for services that should be bundled.
- Fugitives from Justice – Fugitives from justice are individuals who are wanted by law enforcement officials. This can include individuals who have violated parole, jumped bail, or escaped from prison, but may also extend to people with outstanding warrants or who are suspected in a crime.
- Gambling – Gambling is the involvement in games of chance for the purpose of generating profit. As a regulated activity it can be considered legal, but unauthorized betting activity is illegal.
- Genocide – Genocide refers to the mass murder of persons of a specific race or culture. It is the malicious and focused targeting of particular peoples and the systematic extermination of this precise group.
- Gun Crimes – possession of gun by convicted felon – Gun crimes include, but are not limited to the unlawful injury of killing of another person with a firearm. Other aspects of gun crimes are unlicensed possession, concealment of a firearm, or the possession of gun by convicted felon.
- Homicide/Murder – Homicide or murder can be defined as the deliberate and intentional taking of the life of another. Distinctions are made as to whether there was planning or premeditation, or whether there is just the intent to kill.
- Manslaughter – Manslaughter refers to the unintentional taking of a life. This can include accidental killing or acts of violence where death ensues, although the intent to kill was not present.
- Attempt to Commit Murder – Attempt to commit murder is considered an intentional plan or decision to take the life of another that may result in injury and bodily harm but has not succeeded in killing the selected target.
- Conspiracy – Conspiracy to murder is collusion between two or more people to end the life of another individual. This can include a murder for hire or a plan that affords knowledge of the crime to a person beyond the one committing the killing.
- Killing Persons Aiding Federal Investigations – Killing persons aiding in Federal Investigations includes the murder of a state official, a law enforcement officer, or a civilian who is acting on behalf of the officers involved in the investigation.
- Foreign Murder of US Nationals – Foreign murder of U.S. Nationals is the intentional killing or attempted killing of an individual who is an American citizen while they are in another country.
- Murder or Manslaughter of Foreign Officials – Murder or manslaughter of Foreign Officials refers to taking the life of a person who is a federal employee, official guest, or diplomatically protected individual, while that individual is outside of their native land.
- Import and Export Crimes – Import and export crimes involve knowingly trading wares across country lines in a manner that is deceptive or illegal. This can include falsification of weights and contents, claiming incorrect value of goods, or dealing in items that are contraband.
- Indians – Indians are indigenous people of the North American continent. They are recognized as a sovereign nation within the country and are afforded certain land and profit rights as per legal rulings.
- Insider Trading – Insider trading is the use of proprietary information to make investments based in knowledge that is not publicly available. It is considered a form of cheating, since it utilizes unfair advantages for personal gain.
- Kidnapping – Kidnapping is the illegal abduction of another person. A kidnapping can be against the abducted person’s will, but can also be an act that is not offensive to the person being abducted but is offensive to the care giver of the abductee.
- Labor – Labor refers to the employment workforce. Labor is both the workers who perform tasks of industry and the actual supply of work that is available to individuals in the workforce.
- Liquor trafficking – Liquor trafficking involves the production, distribution, and sale of alcohol in a manner that is not approved by the law. It can include improper taxation, importing alcohol to jurisdictions where it is prohibited, or making liquor in an unregulated manner.
- Lotteries – Lotteries are state and federally approved, large scale gambling games that are organized and regulated, allowing individuals to purchase chances at winning the sum that has been collected by the time of the drawing.
- Malicious mischief – Malicious mischief is a reckless destruction of property that is performed intentionally and with the desire to cause distress. It may include acts of trespassing and the desire to cause injury to another.
- Obscenity – Obscenity is any indecent phrase, statement, action, behavior, or depiction that is often sexual in nature but is considered socially or legally inappropriate, as well as morally offensive.
- Obstruction of Justice – Obstruction of Justice occurs when a person or persons cause interference in a legal action. This can include falsifying or withholding information or aiding a criminal in avoiding punishment.
- Peonage – Peonage is a situation where an individual is indentured to another in an effort to repay a debt. Slavery is the unlawful use of human beings as property and trafficking in persons is the selling and trade of human beings for personal gain and profit.
- Perjury – Perjury is knowingly making a false statement while under oath in a court of law. Lying on the stand and giving fictitious testimony are included under the heading of perjury.
- Piracy – Piracy is an act of robbery that traditionally occurs at sea, but can extend to the unlawful ownership and use of information as well. Privateering is a legal form of piracy in which a private person is authorized by a government to command a ship in a military fashion.
- Presidential and Staff assassination – Presidential and Staff assassination refers to the intentional killing of the commander in chief or any member of the presidential cabinet and is a crime that is tried and punished under the federal statutes for murder.
- Racketeering – Racketeering is the running of a criminal enterprise that profits from illegal activities and services, and can include such acts as intimidation, bribery, or forgery.
- Rape – Rape is unlawful intercourse with another person, without that other person’s consent. Sexual assault is an uninvited sexual contact that does not result in penetration, but is often accompanied by force.
- 98. Robbery is the illegal seizure of another person’s belongings, identity, or funds, and burglary involves breaking and entering with the intent to steal belongings from another individual’s residence or business.
- 99. Sabotage is the act of willfully undermining or destroying property or passions in an effort to hinder the advancement of a person, corporation, organization, or government entity.
- 102. Sexual abuse is when unwanted sexual behavior is forced upon a person and may occur over a period of time, as with children and spouses.
- 103. Aggravated sexual abuse occurs when an undesired sexual advance is forcibly and deliberately enacted on another person with great brutality over a short period of time.
- 104. Sexual abuse of a minor refers to any illegal sexual activity that occurs between an adult and a child, and is punishable by imprisonment for thirty years to life.
- 105. Sex offender is any individual who has been convicted of a sex crime. Crimes against children may be sexually based or abuse based, with abuse extending to exploitation and neglect as well as physical brutality.
- 106. Sexual exploitation refers to the use of any individual as a sexual object against their will and can include prostitution and certain acts of pornography. In regard to abuse of children, this is when a child is sexualized through photography, molestation, prostitution, and other means.
- 107. Domestic violence refers to physical abuse that occurs between married partners or individuals cohabitating as partners. Stalking is an act of terrorism through presence, and may or may not lead to violence and bodily harm.
- 109. Destruction of vessels or maritime facilities is an intentional act of sabotage that is meant to hinder or stop imports and exports, or demoralize military personnel. Interference with either vessels or facilities can be an act of piracy or terrorism.
- 111. Tax evasion is the willful action of refusing to pay the government or falsifying information so as to only partially pay the government based on annual earnings and income.
- 112. Telemarketing fraud is the use of sales over the telephone to make financial gains on false claims and promises. This action will frequently target elderly individuals, but can extend to the use of TTY systems in cases of identity theft.
- 113. Terrorism is any action that systematically undermines a sense of security and induces fear. This action can be applied to communities within a society or to individuals.
- 114. Torture is the inhumane treatment of another human being for any purpose, and can include both physical and psychological brutality that may or may not leave lasting damage.
- 115. Trafficking in contraband cigarettes and smokeless tobacco refers to the distribution of untaxed tobacco products so as to generate a profit based on the difference in prices.
- 116. Treason, sedition, and subversive activities are all considered anti-national, anti-government behaviors. Treason is an outright betrayal of a country, while sedition and subversive activities are intended to incite a reaction in society.
- 117. Transportation for illegal sexual activity can include the abduction of individuals for sexual slavery, crossing state lines with those individuals, and exporting unwilling adults or minors for the purposes of sexual abuse.
- 118. War crimes are acts of immorality that are conducted during times of conflict and are deemed dehumanizing and disrespectful to human beings. This can include human experimentation, torture, and abuse that is unwarranted, even in a time of battle.
- 119. Wire and electronic communications interception is commonly known as wire tapping and refer to the unauthorized listening or recording of communications that are expected to be private.
- Records requires that personal information be kept safe and guarded and may not be accessed by outside individuals or entities unless direct legal authorization is given.
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