---
type: "LegalText"
title: "18 U.S.C. § 1518"
description: "Obstruction of criminal investigations of health care offenses"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 18
title_name: "CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE"
chapter_number: "73"
chapter_name: "OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE"
section: "1518"
citation: "18 U.S.C. § 1518"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc18@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t18/s1518"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-18/usc18.xml"
source_hash: "3eb57b543cb3462000cb42e68832528d86da78a55dd21ce5ebe823b8c3a065fb"
raw_snapshot_hash: "1a1bbbbdb59e376ada4eb7ad1056fd68d396679ee7ab59f0561af15006122708"
text_hash: "936d10cc2dc2b60592823b0f8cf1014f3bd48872a415dcd5a53df40de8ad489b"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 18 U.S.C. § 1518 - Obstruction of criminal investigations of health care offenses

## Text

(a) Whoever willfully prevents, obstructs, misleads, delays or attempts to prevent, obstruct, mislead, or delay the communication of information or records relating to a violation of a Federal health care offense to a criminal investigator shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

(b) As used in this section the term “criminal investigator” means any individual duly authorized by a department, agency, or armed force of the United States to conduct or engage in investigations for prosecutions for violations of health care offenses.

(Added Pub. L. 104–191, title II, § 245(a), Aug. 21, 1996, 110 Stat. 2017.)