18 U.S.C. § 21 — Stolen or counterfeit nature of property for certain crimes defined

(a) This section applies whenever a federal crime in this title requires proving two things: (1) that property was embezzled, robbed, stolen, converted, taken, altered, counterfeited, falsely made, forged, or obliterated; and (2) that the defendant knew the property had that character. Prosecutors can establish that second element by proving that the defendant, after or as a result of an official representation about the nature of the property, believed the property was embezzled, robbed, stolen, converted, taken, altered, counterfeited, falsely made, forged, or obliterated. (b) In this section, "official representation" means a representation made by a federal law enforcement officer, as defined in section 115, or by another person acting at that officer's direction or with that officer's approval.