Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/3756

 124 STAT. 3730 PUBLIC LAW 111–350—JAN. 4, 2011 (b) WHEN COMPENSATION MAY BE ACCEPTED.—Subsection (a) does not prohibit a former official of a Federal agency from accepting compensation from a division or affiliate of a contractor that does not produce the same or similar products or services as the entity of the contractor that is responsible for the contract referred to in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a). (c) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—Regulations implementing this section shall include procedures for an official or former official of a Federal agency to request advice from the appropriate des- ignated agency ethics official regarding whether the official or former official is or would be precluded by this section from accepting compensation from a particular contractor. (d) PERSONS SUBJECT TO PENALTIES.—The following are subject to the penalties and administrative actions set forth in section 2105 of this title: (1) A former official who knowingly accepts compensation in violation of this section. (2) A contractor that provides compensation to a former offi- cial knowing that the official accepts the compensation in viola- tion of this section. § 2105. Penalties and administrative actions (a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A person that violates section 2102 of this title to exchange information covered by section 2102 of this title for anything of value or to obtain or give a person a competitive advantage in the award of a Federal agency procure- ment contract shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The Attorney General may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States against a person that engages in conduct that violates section 2102, 2103, or 2104 of this title. On proof of that conduct by a preponderance of the evidence— (1) an individual is liable to the Federal Government for a civil penalty of not more than $50,000 for each violation plus twice the amount of compensation that the individual received or offered for the prohibited conduct; and (2) an organization is liable to the Federal Government for a civil penalty of not more than $500,000 for each violation plus twice the amount of compensation that the organization received or offered for the prohibited conduct. (c) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS.— (1) TYPES OF ACTION THAT FEDERAL AGENCY MAY TAKE.— A Federal agency that receives information that a contractor or a person has violated section 2102, 2103, or 2104 of this title shall consider taking one or more of the following actions, as appropriate: (A) Canceling the Federal agency procurement, if a con- tract has not yet been awarded. (B) Rescinding a contract with respect to which— (i) the contractor or someone acting for the contractor has been convicted for an offense punishable under subsection (a); or (ii) the head of the agency that awarded the contract has determined, based on a preponderance of the evi- dence, that the contractor or a person acting for the contractor has engaged in conduct constituting the offense.