Private Law 85–298

That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the First National Bank of Birmingham, Alabama, the sum of $6,021.15. The payment of such sum shall be in full settlement of all claims of such bank against the United States for repayment of sums which it loaned in 1950 to the Alabama Aero-Mechanic Institute, Division of Airplane Engineers, taking as security for the loans an assignment of certain contract claims of such institute against the Veterans’ Administration. The Veterans’ Administration, discovering in 1951 that such institute (without the knowledge of the bank) had been guilty of fraud under the contract, refused to pay such claims to the bank and instead offset the amount of such claims against the penalties which were imposed upon such institute by reason of such fraud: Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty or a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000.