Every public officer of the state or any county, city, town, or member or officer of the Legislature, and every deputy or clerk of any such officer and every other person receiving any money or other thing of value on behalf of or for account of this state or any department of the government of this state or any bureau or fund created by law and in which this state or the people thereof, are directly or indirectly interested, who either:

First: Receives, directly or indirectly, any interest, profit or perquisites, arising from the use or loan of public funds in the officer’s or person’s hands or money to be raised through an agency for state, city, town, district, or county purposes; or

Second: Knowingly keeps any false account, or makes any false entry or erasure in any account of or relating to any moneys so received by him, on behalf of the state, city, town, district or county, or the people thereof, or in which they are interested; or

Third: Fraudulently alters, falsifies, cancels, destroys or obliterates any such account, shall, upon conviction, thereof, be deemed guilty of a felony and shall be punished by a fine of not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), and by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for a term of not less than one (1) year nor more than twenty (20) years and, in addition thereto, the person shall be disqualified to hold office in this state, and the court shall issue an order of such forfeiture, and should appeal be taken from the judgment of the court, the defendant may, in the discretion of the court, stand suspended from such office until such cause is finally determined.

R.L. 1910, § 2581. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 133, § 170, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 1999, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 5, § 88, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2002, c. 460, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2002.

NOTE: Laws 1998, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 2, § 23 amended the effective date of Laws 1997, c. 133, § 170 from July 1, 1998, to July 1, 1999.