Most people are not aware of the offense “misprision of felony” until they find themselves charged with it. It’s a short federal statute that reads, “Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”
That might sound a lot like accessory after the fact or other offenses that involve not disclosing full and accurate information about a crime to authorities. It’s certainly possible to be charged with misprision of felony and accessory after the fact or similar offenses. However, there are some things that make misprision of felony unique.
When can someone be charged with this offense?
In order to meet the definition of this offense, the crime being concealed must be a federal felony. Further, it’s not enough to simply fail to report a crime to the proper authorities. Someone must take “affirmative steps” to help conceal the crime at issue.
While this offense typically involves protecting someone who is known to the person accused of misprision, that’s not a requirement to be charged. Someone doesn’t have to know the person who committed the crime. They only have to do something to conceal the crime or the true nature of it. For example, a person might not hide a dead body, but they might do something to make it appear that the person died accidentally and wasn’t intentionally killed – like hiding the weapon used to kill them.
Someone can be charged with misprision of felony for things like hiding a person whom law enforcement is looking for. It can be a potential criminal charge in a white collar crime as well. For example, if someone is aware of fraudulent practices occurring in their company and helps to conceal it – even if they have no direct role in the fraud – that can be considered misprision of felony because they’re helping to hide this misconduct.
Like any federal criminal charge, a misprision of felony charge shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s critical to get experienced legal guidance as early as possible if you are being investigated for or charged with this offense.