Lying on financial disclosures is a criminal offense, but difficult to enforce. FTA: > Material omissions or misrepresentations on personal financial disclosur

Lying on financial disclosures is a criminal offense, but difficult to enforce. FTA: > Material omissions or misrepresentations on personal financial disclosures are considered a federal crime under the False Statements Act, which carries a maximum penalty of $250,000 and five years in prison. But the bar for these cases is high, given that the statute requires violations to be “knowing and willful.” Note that this does not apply to things like lying about college or previous employers, only to financial disclosures. House of Representatives ethics penalties may also apply. FTA: > The House of Representatives has several internal mechanisms for investigating ethics violations, issuing civil or administrative penalties when it does. Those bodies tend to act largely in egregious cases, particularly if the behavior took place before the member was inaugurated.