2008 edition - Fort Sam Houston - U.S. Army

T h i s a r t i c l e d o e s n o t p r o s c r i b e c l a i m s , h o w e v e r
groundless they may be, that the maker believes to
be valid, or claims that are merely made negligently
or without ordinary prudence.
(2) Presenting for approval or payment a false or
fraudulent claim.
(a) False and fraudulent. False and fraudulent
claims include not only those containing some material
false statement, but also claims which the claimant
knows to have been paid or for some other
reason the claimant knows the claimant is not aut
h o r i z e d t o p r e s e n t o r u p o n w h i c h t h e c l a i m a n t
knows the claimant has no right to collect.
( b ) P r e s e n t i n g a c l a i m . T h e c l a i m m u s t b e
presented, directly or indirectly, to some person having
authority to pay it. The person to whom the
claim is presented may be identified by position or
authority to approve the claim, and need not be
identified by name in the specification. A false claim
may be tacitly presented, as when a person who
knows that there is no entitlement to certain pay
accepts it nevertheless without disclosing a disqualification,
even though the person may not have made
any representation of entitlement to the pay. For
example, a person cashing a pay check which inc
l u d e s a n a m o u n t f o r a d e p e n d e n c y a l l o w a n c e ,
knowing at the time that the entitlement no longer
exists because of a change in that dependency status,
has tacitly presented a false claim. See also subparagraph
(1), above.
( 3 ) M a k i n g o r u s i n g a f a l s e w r i t i n g o r o t h e r
paper in connection with claims. The false or fraudulent
statement must be material, that is, it must
have a tendency to mislead governmental officials in
their consideration or investigation of the claim. The
offense of making a writing or other paper known to
contain a false or fraudulent statement for the purpose
of obtaining the approval, allowance, or payment
of a claim is complete when the writing or
paper is made for that purpose, whether or not any
use of the paper has been attempted and whether or
not the claim has been presented. See also the explanation
in subparagraph (1) and (2), above.
( 4 ) F a l s e o a t h i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h c l a i m s . S e e
subparagraphs (1) and (2), above.
( 5 ) F o r g e r y o f s i g n a t u r e i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h
claims. Any fraudulent making of the signature of
another is forging or counterfeiting, whether or not
an attempt is made to imitate the handwriting. See
58.f.(1)
p a r a g r a p h 4 8 ( c ) a n d s u b p a r a g r a p h ( 1 ) a n d ( 2 ) ,
above.
(6) Delivering less than amount called for by rec
e i p t . I t i s i m m a t e r i a l b y w h a t m e a n s — w h e t h e r
deceit, collusion, or otherwise—the accused effected
the transaction, or what was the accused’s purpose.
(7) Making or delivering receipt without having
full knowledge that it is true. When an officer or
other person subject to military law is authorized to
make or deliver any paper certifying the receipt of
any property of the United States furnished or intended
for the armed forces thereof, and a receipt or
other paper is presented for signature stating that a
certain amount of supplies has been furnished by a
certain contractor, it is that person’s duty before
signing the paper to know that the full amount of
supplies therein stated to have been furnished has in
fact been furnished, and that the statements contained
in the paper are true. If the person signs the
paper with intent to defraud the United States and
without that knowledge, that person is guilty of a
violation of this section of the article. If the person
signs the paper with knowledge that the full amount
was not received, it may be inferred that the person
intended to defraud the United States.
d. Lesser included offense. Article 80—attempts
e. Maximum punishment.
( 1 ) A r t i c l e 1 3 2 ( 1 ) a n d ( 2 ) . D i s h o n o r a b l e d i s -
charge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and
confinement for 5 years.
(2) Article 132(3) and (4).
(a) When amount is $500.00 or less. Bad-conduct
discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances,
and confinement for 6 months.
(b) When amount is over $500.00. Dishonorable
discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances,
and confinement for 5 years.
f. Sample specifications.
(1) Making false claim.
In that (personal jurisdiction data), did,
(at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction
data, if required), on or about 20 ,
(by preparing (a voucher) ( ) for presentation
for approval or payment) ( ), make a
claim against the (United States) (finance officer
a t ) ( ) i n t h e a m o u n t o f
$ for (private property alleged to have
b e e n ( l o s t ) ( d e s t r o y e d ) i n t h e m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e )
( ), which claim was (false) (fraudulent)
IV-109