49 U.S.C. § 14902 — Civil penalty for accepting rebates from carrier

This section applies to a person who (1) either delivers property to a carrier for transportation, or has property transported for them as consignor or consignee, moving between a State, territory, or possession of the United States and another State, possession, territory, or a foreign country, and (2) knowingly accepts or receives, by any means, a rebate or offset against the shipping rate listed in the tariff required under section 13702 of this title. That person is liable to the United States for a civil penalty equal to 3 times the money they accepted or received as a rebate or offset, plus 3 times the value of any other consideration they accepted or received that way. In a civil action under this section, all the money or other consideration the person received as rebates over the 6 years before the action was brought may be included when calculating the penalty. If that full 6-year total is included, the penalty becomes 3 times that entire total amount.