When the FBI Comes Calling…®
MAIL FRAUD
Mail fraud is an act of fraud using the U.S. Postal Service, such as making false representations through the mail to obtain an economic advantage. Black's Law Dictionary 687 (8th ed. 2005) It is substantially similar to wire fraud, and like the Supreme Court of the United States warning in Pasquantino v. United States, 125 S. Ct. 1766, 1784 (2005) (Ginsburg, J. dissenting) concerning an overbroad interpretation of the wire fraud statute, the mail fraud statute should be narrowly construed in order to avoid an extension of its applicability beyond the limits envisioned by Congress. See United States v. Murphy, 323 F.3d 102, 116 (3d Cir. 2003) (citing McNally v. United States, 483 U.S. 350, 360 (1987) superseded on other grounds by 18 U.S.C. § 1346 (2005) (schemes "to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services" are proscribed)).
Nonetheless, the mail fraud statutes, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 1342, have been applied in a wide variety of cases, often in conjunction with other criminal statutes. See Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1 (1999) (defendant charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud violations); United States v. Haber, 251 F.3d 881 (10th Cir. 2001) (defendant charged with mail fraud and wire fraud); United States v. Autuori, 212 F.3d 105 (2d Cir. 2000) (defendant charged with wire fraud and mail fraud violations); United States v. Martin, 195 F.3d 961 (7th Cir. 1999) (defendant charged with mail fraud and bribery of a public official); United States v. George, 477 F.2d 508 (7th Cir. 1973) (defendant charged with mail fraud in kickback scheme for depriving manufacturer of loyalty and honesty).
18 U.S.C. § 1341 (2007).
The Crime
Section 1341 is a rather dense and convoluted statute. Under this section, it is a crime
- for a person who has devised or intends to devise any scheme or artifice
- to defraud, or
- the Environmental Protection Agency; see United States v. White, 270 F.3d 356 (6th Cir. 2001);
- 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,
- to place 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
- to deposit or cause to be deposited any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate carrier, or
- to take or receive therefrom, any such matter or thing, or
- to knowingly cause 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, 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (2007).
In many ways, it is just simpler to realize that mail fraud is primarily devising a scheme or artifice to defraud and then using the nation's mail system to carry that scheme out.
The Punishment
The punishment under section 1341 is
- a fine, imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both.
If the violation affects a financial institution, the punishment is
- a fine of not more than $ 1,000,000, imprisonment for not more than 30 years, or both. 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (2007).