Chop shops — Us Code Code § 2322

Us Code Code § 2322 — Chop shops. Reproduced from the official United States Code, with a citation summary, verification link, and related provisions.

§ 2322. Chop shops

(a) In General.—

(1) Unlawful action.—Any person who knowingly owns, operates, maintains, or controls a chop shop or conducts operations in a chop shop shall be punished by a fine under this title or by imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or both. If a conviction of a person under this paragraph is for a violation committed after the first conviction of such person under this paragraph, the maximum punishment shall be doubled with respect to any fine and imprisonment.

(2) Injunctions.—The Attorney General shall, as appropriate, in the case of any person who violates paragraph (1), commence a civil action for permanent or temporary injunction to restrain such violation.


(b) Definition.—For purposes of this section, the term "chop shop" means any building, lot, facility, or other structure or premise where one or more persons engage in receiving, concealing, destroying, disassembling, dismantling, reassembling, or storing any passenger motor vehicle or passenger motor vehicle part which has been unlawfully obtained in order to alter, counterfeit, deface, destroy, disguise, falsify, forge, obliterate, or remove the identity, including the vehicle identification number or derivative thereof, of such vehicle or vehicle part and to distribute, sell, or dispose of such vehicle or vehicle part in interstate or foreign commerce.

(Added Pub. L. 102–519, title I, §105(a), Oct. 25, 1992, 106 Stat. 3385.)

About This Section

18 U.S.C. § 2322 is part of Title 18 of the United States Code. The United States Code is the official codification of federal statutes maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress amends the Code through new public laws, which are eventually incorporated into the relevant title.

This section may be cited in legal writing as 18 U.S.C. § 2322. For the most current official text, including any recent amendments, use the official source links below. Do not rely on this page as the sole authority for legal citation or litigation.

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Sources

Source: official Us Code text · Last verified 2026-08-27

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It addresses "Chop shops". Read the section together with the surrounding provisions listed under "Nearby provisions" for the full picture.

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