(a) Any person who knowingly, or as a result either of gross negligence or of a failure to make a reasonable effort to inform himself of the pertinent facts, violates any provision of this chapter or the rules and regulations made and promulgated thereunder shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall pay a fine of not more than $1,000, for the first offense, and upon conviction for each subsequent offense not more than $2,000.
(b) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or the rules and regulations made and promulgated thereunder shall forfeit to the United States a sum, not less than $25 or more than $500, for each such violation, which forfeiture shall be recoverable in a civil suit brought in the name of the United States.
(Aug. 9, 1939, ch. 615, title IV, § 406, 53 Stat. 1286; July 9, 1956, ch. 520, § 1, 70 Stat. 508.)
Editorial Notes
Amendments1956—Act July 9, 1956, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted “knowingly or as a result either of gross negligence or of a failure to make a reasonable effort to inform himself of the pertinent facts,” and added subsec. (b).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1956 AmendmentAct July 9, 1956, ch. 520, § 4, 70 Stat. 508, provided that: “The amendments made by this Act [amending sections 1574, 1596, and 1602 of this title] shall be applicable only with respect to violations occurring after the enactment of this Act [July 9, 1956].”
Effective DateSee section 1610 of this title.