Making false statements

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Making false statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001) is the common name for the United States federal process crime laid out in Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which generally prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or concealing information, in "any matter within the jurisdiction" of the federal government of the United States,^[1] even by merely denying guilt when asked by a federal agent.^[2] A number of notable people have been convicted under the section, including Martha Stewart,^[3] Rod Blagojevich,^[4] Michael T. Flynn,^[5] Rick Gates,^[6] Scooter Libby,^[7] Bernard Madoff,^[8] and Jeffrey Skilling.^[9]

This statute is used in many contexts. Most commonly, prosecutors use this statute to reach cover-up crimes such as perjury, false declarations, and obstruction of justice and government fraud cases.^[10]

Its earliest progenitor was the False Claims Act of 1863. In 1934, the requirement of an intent to defraud was eliminated. This was to prosecute successfully, under the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA), the producers of "hot oil", i.e. oil produced in violation of restrictions established by NIRA. In 1935, NIRA was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan and A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States.

Pursuant to the decision in United States v. Gaudin (1995), the jury is to decide whether the false statements made were material, since materiality is an element of the offense.^[11]