A war profiteer is an individual or organization that earns excessive or unethical profit from warfare, including by selling weapons, supplies, or services to parties engaged in a conflict. Despite the moral condemnation the practice attracts, dedicated criminal statutes against it are rare; the War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007, which would have created criminal penalties for war profiteers in the United States, was introduced but never enacted into law. In practice, prosecutors instead rely on existing fraud and false-claims statutes, most notably the Civil False Claims Act of 1863, itself originally passed to combat profiteering during the American Civil War. War profiteering therefore occupies a regulatory gray area in which particular fraudulent schemes can be prosecuted even though the underlying practice of profiting from war is not comprehensively criminalized at the federal level.
Facts
Classification CodeWar profiteering has no single dedicated criminal statute in the United States; cases are most often brought under the Civil False Claims Act, a fraud statute enacted in 1863 to combat war profiteering during the American Civil War. 1 Typical PenaltyNo dedicated criminal penalty scheme exists for war profiteering itself in the United States: the War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007, which would have created one, was never enacted, so prosecutions instead proceed under general fraud statutes. 1 Elements of OffenseA war profiteer is an individual or organization that earns excessive or unethical profit from warfare, including by selling weapons, supplies, or services to parties engaged in the conflict. 1 Notable ExampleA documented historical example is the shoddy millionaires of the American Civil War, who allegedly sold recycled wool and cardboard soled shoes to soldiers, prioritizing profit over quality and safety. 1 Jurisdiction VariationA dedicated United States criminal statute for war profiteering was proposed but never enacted: the War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007 would have created criminal penalties for exploiting taxpayer funded efforts in Iraq and elsewhere, but it was introduced on April 25, 2007 and never became law. 1 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. War Profiteering (Wikipedia)
WikipediaUnited States subsection
War profiteering cases are often brought under the Civil False Claims Act, which was enacted in 1863 to combat war profiteering during the Civil War.
Lead paragraph
A war profiteer is any individual or organization that earns excessive or unethical profit from warfare or by selling weapons, supplies, or services to parties engaged in conflict.
United States subsection, War Profiteering Prevention Act paragraph
The War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007 intended to create criminal penalties for war profiteers and others who exploited taxpayer-funded efforts in Iraq and elsewhere around the world. This act was introduced first on April 25, 2007, but was never enacted into law.
Lead paragraph, shoddy millionaires sentence
An example of war profiteers were the shoddy millionaires of the American Civil War, who allegedly sold recycled wool and cardboard-soled shoes to soldiers, prioritizing profit over quality and safety.
United States subsection, Act never enacted clause
This act was introduced first on April 25, 2007, but was never enacted into law.
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