When the FBI Comes Calling…®
CONSPIRACY
A conspiracy is "an agreement by two or more persons to commit an unlawful act, coupled with an intent to achieve the agreement's objective, and [often] action or conduct that furthers the agreement; a combination for an unlawful purpose." Black's Law Dictionary 329 (8th ed. 2005). Conspiracy always involves two or more people, because a person cannot conspire with himself. United States v. Moss, 591 F.2d 428, 434 (8th Cir. 1979). It is a separate offense from the crime that is the object of the conspiracy, and the conspiracy ends when either the unlawful act has been committed or when the agreement has been abandoned. Id. It does not automatically end if the object of the conspiracy is defeated. Id. The statute that deals primarily with conspiracy is 18 U.S.C. § 371 (2007), but there are some statutes that deal with conspiracies for specific unlawful acts, the most common being 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h) (2007) (money laundering), and 21 U.S.C. § 846 (2007) (controlled substances). Many times, a defendant will be charged with conspiracy along with the actual crime the defendant is accused of committing. For example, see United States v. Walsh, 75 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 1996) (defendant charged with conspiracy, bank fraud, and making false statements); Huff v. United States, 301 F.2d 760 (5th Cir. 1962) (defendants charged with conspiracy, and wire fraud); United States v. Buschman, 386 F. Supp. 822 (E.D. Wis. 1975) (defendant charged with conspiracy, and interstate transportation of stolen goods). Other times, the defendant will be charged with only one count of conspiracy. See, for example, Coluccio v. United States, 313 F. Supp. 2d 150 (E.D.N.Y. 2004) (defendant charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States government); United States v. Fantin, 130 F. Supp. 2d 385 (W.D.N.Y. 2000) (defendant charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud).
18 U.S.C. § 371 (2007)
The Crime
It is a violation of section 371 for "two or more persons" to conspire
- to commit any offense against the United States, or
- " to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, if one or more of such persons does any act to effect the object of the conspiracy. 18 U.S.C. § 371 (2007).
The Punishment
The punishment for a violation of section 371 is
- a fine,
- imprisonment for not more than five years,
- or both. 18 U.S.C. § 371 (2007).
If the offense contemplated is a misdemeanor, the punishment shall not exceed the maximum punishment provided for such misdemeanor. Id.
Case Law Interpreting Section 371
United States v. Bicaksiz, 194 F.3d 390 (2d Cir. 1999)
"An essential element of the crime of conspiracy is an agreement. In other words, 'unless at least two people [agree], no one does. When one of two persons merely pretends to agree, the other party, whatever he may believe, is in fact not conspiring with anyone.'" Bicaksiz at 399 (quoting United States v. Rosenblatt, 554 F.2d 36, 38 (2d Cir. 1977)).
United States v. Stavroulakis, 952 F.2d 686 (2d Cir. 1992)
The defendant in this case was convicted, in part, for conspiring with another individual to launder money. Stavroulakis at 688. On appeal, he argued that "the government failed to prove a conspiracy to violate the money laundering statute, as there was no proof of an agreement on the essential nature of the conspiracy." Id. In short, he argued that the conviction could not stand "because he believed the money came from narcotics while [his co-conspirator] believed it came from gambling." Id. at 690. The court disagreed. There is no requirement that the conspirators agree on every detail of the venture, but "there must be proof beyond a reasonable doubt that they agreed on the essential nature of the plan." Id. (quoting Blumenthal v. United States, 332 U.S. 539, 557 (1947)). Ancillary aspects of the conspiracy do not need to be agreed on because the "policies underlying conspiratorial liability could easily be thwarted by the careful compartmentalization of information, and 'conspirators would go free by their very ingenuity,' if it were required that they agree on all details of the scheme." Id. Instead, the focus is on the essence of the underlying illegal objective. Id.
United States v. Cohen, 583 F.2d 1030 (8th Cir. 1978)
The indictment in Cohen charged that the defendants willfully and knowingly conspired with each other and an unindicted co-conspirator to cause to be delivered by mail certain obscene materials. Cohen at 1034. "In order to convict on [a] conspiracy charge ... the jury must find (1) an agreement, (2) a combination of two or more persons, (3) an unlawful purpose, and (4) that at least one of the conspirators committed an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy." Id. at 1039. Furthermore, a conspiracy, "once established, is presumed to continue until the contrary is established." Id. at 1040.