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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 931. Penalty for misrepresentation
(a) Felony; fine; imprisonment
(1) Any claimant or representative of a claimant who knowingly
and willfully makes a false statement or representation for the
purpose of obtaining a benefit or payment under this chapter shall
be guilty of a felony, and on conviction thereof shall be punished
by a fine not to exceed $10,000, by imprisonment not to exceed five
years, or by both.
(2) The United States attorney for the district in which the
injury is alleged to have occurred shall make every reasonable
effort to promptly investigate each complaint made under this
subsection.
(b) List of persons disqualified from representing claimants
(1) No representation fee of a claimant's representative shall be
approved by the deputy commissioner, an administrative law judge,
the Board, or a court pursuant to section 928 of this title, if the
claimant's representative is on the list of individuals who are
disqualified from representing claimants under this chapter
maintained by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (2) of this
subsection.
(2)(A) The Secretary shall annually prepare a list of those
individuals in each compensation district who have represented
claimants for a fee in cases under this chapter and who are not
authorized to represent claimants. The names of individuals
contained on the list required under this subparagraph shall be
made available to employees and employers in each compensation
district through posting and in such other forms as the Secretary
may prescribe.
(B) Individuals shall be included on the list of those not
authorized to represent claimants under this chapter if the
Secretary determines under this section, in accordance with the
procedure provided in subsection (j) of section 907 of this title,
that such individual -
(i) has been convicted (without regard to pending appeal) of
any crime in connection with the representation of a claimant
under this chapter or any workers' compensation statute;
(ii) has engaged in fraud in connection with the presentation
of a claim under this or any workers' compensation statute,
including, but not limited to, knowingly making false
representations, concealing or attempting to conceal material
facts with respect to a claim, or soliciting or otherwise
procuring false testimony;
(iii) has been prohibited from representing claimants before
any other workers' compensation agency for reasons of
professional misconduct which are similar in nature to those
which would be grounds for disqualification under this paragraph;
or
(iv) has accepted fees for representing claimants under this
chapter which were not approved, or which were in excess of the
amount approved pursuant to section 928 of this title.
(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), no individual who is on the
list required to be maintained by the Secretary pursuant to this
section shall be prohibited from presenting his or her own claim or
from representing without fee, a claimant who is a spouse, mother,
father, sister, brother, or child of such individual.
(D) A determination under subparagraph (A) shall remain in effect
for a period of not less than three years and until the Secretary
finds and gives notice to the public that there is reasonable
assurance that the basis for the determination will not reoccur.
(3) No employee shall be liable to pay a representation fee to
any representative whose fee has been disallowed by reason of the
operation of this paragraph.
(4) The Secretary shall issue such rules and regulations as are
necessary to carry out this section.
(c) False statements or representation to reduce, deny, or
terminate benefits
A person including, but not limited to, an employer, his duly
authorized agent, or an employee of an insurance carrier who
knowingly and willfully makes a false statement or representation
for the purpose of reducing, denying, or terminating benefits to an
injured employee, or his dependents pursuant to section 909 of this
title if the injury results in death, shall be punished by a fine
not to exceed $10,000, by imprisonment not to exceed five years, or
by both.
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