§ 3343 — Check Forgery Insurance Fund

(a) The Department of the Treasury has a special deposit revolving fund, the “Check Forgery Insurance Fund”. Necessary amounts are hereafter appropriated to the Fund out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and shall remain available until expended to make the payments required or authorized under this section. The Fund consists of amounts— (1) appropriated to the Fund; and (2) received under subsection (d) of this section. (b) establishes that— (1) the check was lost or stolen without the fault of the payee or a holder that is a special endorsee and whose endorsement is necessary for further negotiation; (2) the check was negotiated later and paid by the Secretary or a depositary on a forged endorsement of the payee’s or special endorsee’s name; and (3) the payee or special endorsee has not participated in any part of the proceeds of the negotiation or payment. (c) Notwithstanding section 1306 of this title, a check drawn on a designated depositary may be paid in the currency of a foreign country when the appropriate accountable official authorizes payment in that currency. (d) The Secretary shall deposit immediately to the credit of the Fund an amount recovered from a forger or a transferee or party on the check. The Secretary may use amounts in the Fund to reimburse payment certifying or authorizing agencies for any payment that the Secretary determines would otherwise have been payable from the Fund, and may reimburse certifying or authorizing agencies with amounts recovered because of payee nonentitlement. However, currency of a foreign country recovered because of a forged check drawn on a designated depositary shall be credited to the Fund or to the foreign currency fund that was charged when payment was made under subsection (b) of this section to the payee or special endorsee. (e) The Secretary may waive any provision of this section as may be necessary to ensure that claimants receive timely payments. (f) Under such conditions as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may delegate duties and powers of the Secretary under this section to the head of an agency. Consistent with a delegation from the Secretary under this subsection, the head of an agency may redelegate those duties and powers to officers or employees of the agency. (g) This section does not relieve— (1) a forger from civil or criminal liability; or (2) a transferee or party on a check after the forgery from liability— (A) on the express or implied warranty of prior endorsements of the transferee or party; or (B) to refund amounts to the Secretary.