Federal Mail Fraud Charges in New York Federal Courts

Federal Mail Fraud  Charges in New York Federal Courts

This article provides very general cursory information of
Federal Mail Fraud Statute, one of the most widely used in
white collar criminal prosecutions.  I've put it in an easy
to read Q&A format. Federal criminal charges are an
extremely serious matter for which qualified legal help
must be sought immediately.

Question. What is federal mail fraud statutes?

Answer. Mail and Fraud charges are the most commonly tools
federal prosecutors use in federal criminal white collar
cases. The mail fraud statute involves (1) a ''scheme to
defraud,'' and (2) a use of the mails ''for the purpose of
executing'' the scheme. The current statute, 18 U.S.C.
§ 1341 (2004) provides as follows: ''Whoever, having
devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to
defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of
false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or
promises, or to sell, dispose of, loan, exchange, alter,
give away, distribute, supply, or furnish or procure for
unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation,
security, or other article, or anything represented to be
or intimated or held out to be such counterfeit or spurious
article, for the purpose of executing such scheme or
artifice or attempting so to do, places in any post office
or authorized depository for mail matter, any matter or
thing whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal
Service, or deposits or causes to be deposited any matter
or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or
commercial interstate carrier, or takes or receives
therefrom, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to
be delivered by mail or such carrier according to the
direction thereon, or at the place at which it is directed
to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any
such matter or thing, shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the
violation affects a financial institution, such person
shall be fined not more than $ 1,000,000 or imprisoned not
more than 30 years, or both.''

Question: What is "'Use'' of the Mails? Answer: Each use of
the federal mails constitutes a separate offense and each
mailing is a separate count in the indictment."Mail''
includes Federal Express and other commercial carriers.
While each mailing constitutes a separate offense, the
government is permitted to base a single count on any
number of mailings. To be in violation of this statutes, it
is enough to mail anything or ''knowingly cause'' anything
to be mailed. There is a five-year statute of limitation,
so if the mailing occurred more than five years earlier, no
violation of the mail fraud statute may be charged even if
the scheme continued to within the limitations period.

Question: What is "'In Furtherance of'' the Scheme? Answer:
Just because the defendant "used the mails" during a scheme
to defraud is not enough to convict him of mail fraud. The
mailing must be ''for the purpose of executing'' or ''in
furtherance of '' the scheme to defraud. There must be
logical  connection between the scheme and the specific
mailing. In other words, mailing should be part of the plot.

Question: What is Scheme to Defraud? Answer: To prove a
violation of Section 1341, the government must prove that
the defendant had the specific intent to defraud, not just
to have participated in an scheme.  The government must
show the defendant's willful participation in a scheme with
knowledge of the fraudulent nature and with the intent that
the illicit objectives be achieved. The government will try
to prove that the defendant was a knowing participant in
the scheme to defraud. In some cases, it is not difficult
to prove intent to defraud, especially where the defendant
devised the scheme. In other cases the intent is less
evident but the government still must prove that the
defendant participated in the scheme with knowledge of the
fraud.

Question: Should the Scheme to Defraud be Successful?
Answer: No. All the government needs to show is that
defendant engaged in fraudulent activity intended to
accomplish a deprivation of money or property, and used the
mails in furtherance of the scheme. For example, In US v.
Helmsley, the defendant was convicted of tax fraud and mail
fraud based on the submission of false and fraudulent tax
returns. The defendant argued that convictions could not
stand because the government could not show that any taxes
were actually due to the state. The Second Circuit court in
New York held that ''the absence of proof of taxes due to
New York state is immaterial because success of a scheme to
defraud is not required.''

Question:  May I use "Good Faith" Defense Answer: Yes, if
you can proving that the representations, although actually
false, were made without an intent to defraud. It is more
than an honest belief.  Good faith is a complete defense
while an honest belief is not by itself a defense but only
one factor in the determination of good faith.


----------------------------------------------------
Joseph Potashnik is a criminal defense attorney who defends
individuals facing criminal charges in New York City and
New Jersey. You can visit his websites at
http://www.jpdefense.com for NY and
http://www.jpcriminaldefense.com for NJ.

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