Source: http://whitecollarcrime.foxrothschild.com/articles/offense-elements/
Timestamp: 2014-12-20 07:54:15
Document Index: 702593921

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 78', '§ 666', '§ 666', '§ 666', '§ 1951', '§ 666', '§ 1343']

Offense elements | White Collar Defense & Compliance
Category Archives: Offense elements	Subscribe to Offense elements RSS Feed	Third Circuit Clarifies Hobbs Act And Indictment Pleading Requirements	By
Alain Leibman on August 6, 2013
Posted in Offense elements Jana C. Volante writes: In Part I of an analysis of the recent Third Circuit case of United States v. Munchak, 2013 WL 2382618 (3d Cir. May 31, 2013), we discussed the court’s treatment of the issue of restitution for tax offenses under Title 26 — none is available — as contrasted with offenses under Title… Continue Reading
“Ostrich” Defense Proves No Defense For Lawyer Charged With Mortgage Fraud	By
Alain Leibman on May 28, 2013
Posted in Offense elements In a recent case, the Seventh Circuit held that deliberate ignorance is sufficient to prove fraudulent intent on the part of an title company attorney, supporting her conviction for mortgage fraud based on a jury instruction as to the “ostrich” defense.
Defendant Bears Burden Of Proving Conspiracy Withdrawal Even When Withdrawal Date Implicates Statute Of Limitations Defense On Which Government Normally Bears Burden	By
Alain Leibman on May 17, 2013
Posted in Offense elements Supreme Court reaffirms that defendant bears the burden of proving his withdrawal from a drug-distribution conspiracy.
The Seventh Circuit Reaffirms The High Bar Set For A Defendant Seeking Reversal Because An Indictment Was Constructively Amended At Trial	By
Alain Leibman on January 3, 2013
Posted in Offense elements A defendant’s rights under the Grand Jury Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution can be violated if the Government’s evidence at trial and/or the instructions given to the jury at trial constructively amend the defendant’s grand jury indictment to include conduct that is beyond the language and the scope of the indictment itself. However, as shown by the Seventh Circuit’s decision in United States v. Natour, it is not easy for a defendant to prove that the Government has constructively amended his indictment.
Federal-Program Bribery Statute Applies Even Where Object Of The Bribe Is Securing An Intangible, Non-Commercial Benefit	By
Alain Leibman on December 20, 2011
Posted in Offense elements The Seventh Circuit has extended the reach of the federal-program bribery statute to noncommercial policing activity, expanding greatly the variety and number of local government activities now within the statute.
Unsafe Harbor — Attorneys Paid Fees From Criminal Proceeds May Be Charged With Money Laundering	By
Alain Leibman on November 17, 2011
Posted in Offense elements The Fourth Circuit’s recent and divided interpretation of a money laundering safe harbor provision, contrary to the plain words of the statute and to the holding of another court of appeals, threatens the prosecution of defense attorneys for accepting payment out of criminal proceeds.
Has The Outer Limit Of Criminal Federalism Been Reached? “In Furtherance” Requirement Of Mail Fraud Statute Satisfied By The Routine Mailing Of Discovery Requests In Civil Lawsuit Against Victimized Homeowner	By
Alain Leibman on June 21, 2011
Posted in Offense elements The Eighth Circuit has set a particularly low bar for the government to hurdle in proving mail fraud, by holding that even routine discovery requests in a civil case qualify as mailings “in furtherance” of a scheme largely accomplished prior to the filing of that action.
Exploiting Government-Funded Schools Program Constitutes Fraud, Even Though No Regulations Were Violated	By
Alain Leibman on November 23, 2010
Posted in Offense elements A consultant assisting local schools in obtaining federally-distributed funds intended to facilitate Internet connectivity at the schools was charged with defrauding the program, even though the funding applications which she prepared did not violate any of the regulations of the program. The jury rejected this defense and so, on appeal, did the Ninth Circuit. United… Continue Reading
Concealment Money Laundering Requires That Animating Purpose, Not Simply Incidental Feature, Be Concealment Of Proceeds	By
Alain Leibman on September 29, 2010
Posted in Offense elements Prior to the expansion in the last several years of the list of federal offenses for which forfeiture is available as a penalty upon conviction, now including health care offenses and telemarketing schemes for example, prosecutors frequently charged money laundering in order to wield the threat of forfeiture which followed conviction on those charges. Even… Continue Reading
The Second Circuit Declines To Extend Rigorous “Willfulness” Standard From Insider Trading Cases To Plain Vanilla Securities Fraud Prosecutions	By
Alain Leibman on August 20, 2010
Posted in Offense elements In a series of insider trading cases, the Second Circuit has appeared to hike the government’s burden of proof in showing the “willfulness” of conduct needed for conviction by requiring evidence that a defendant acted with the knowledge that he was violating the securities laws. This additional layer of proof, common to prosecutions of many… Continue Reading
Ninth Circuit Holds that Securities Brokers Pumping House Stocks for Higher Commissions Committed Fraud in Failing to Disclose those Commissions to Clients	By
Alain Leibman on July 29, 2010
Posted in Offense elements Defending a securities fraud prosecution brought under 15 U.S.C. § 78j and Rule 10b-5 on the theory of undisclosed material information can be enormously challenging because the standard for judging whether particular information would have been material to a reasonable investor is so elastic and unpredictable. Just how immaterial the supposedly “material” information may be… Continue Reading
Section 666 requires no quid pro quo in order to convict state official of bribery, the Eleventh Circuit holds	By
Alain Leibman on June 13, 2010
Posted in Offense elements We have noted in these electronic pages the first stirrings of what may be a trend in the courts of appeal to limit the reach of 18 U.S.C. § 666 – which prohibits theft and bribery in local government programs which receive federal funds – to true agents of state government. The Eleventh and Fifth Circuits… Continue Reading
Eleventh Circuit Limits Reach of Section 666 By Narrowly Construing “Agent of the State” Element	By
Alain Leibman on January 26, 2010
Posted in Offense elements We noted here recently the first signs of an effort among courts of appeal to temper the reach of 18 U.S.C. § 666, long a favorite tool of prosecutors seeking to federalize misdeeds by local and state officials. Now the Eleventh Circuit has joined in, acting to limit the scope of the statute by strictly… Continue Reading
Fifth Circuit Pulls Back the Reach of 18 U.S.C. § 666 As It Relates to Bribery of Local Judges	By
Alain Leibman on January 18, 2010
Posted in Offense elements Long a favorite weapon of federal prosecutors, Section 666 of Title 18 makes it a crime for an agent of a state or local organization or agency to corruptly demand, offer, or accept anything of value of $5,000 or more in connection with any business or transaction of the organization or agency, where the organization… Continue Reading
Unanimity not required on overt act element of Section 371	By
Alain Leibman on September 18, 2009
Posted in Offense elements Lawyers know reflexively that, in order to convict, a criminal jury must be unanimous in agreeing that the government has proven all essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt. They also know that the crime of conspiracy under Section 371 of Title 18 includes among its elements the requirement of proof of the commission of an overt act,… Continue Reading
Supreme Court makes it easier to bring RICO charges both criminally and civilly	By
Alain Leibman on June 16, 2009
Posted in Offense elements The Supreme Court last week in Boyle v. United States, No. 07-1309 (June 8, 2009) declined to limit association in fact enterprises under RICO to those having the characteristics of "business-like" entities. In so doing, the Court made it easier for the government to charge RICO against looser confederations of criminal groups, like drug and bank robbery… Continue Reading
Quid pro quo not required for Hobbs Act, Section 666 prosecutions	By
Alain Leibman on May 7, 2009
Posted in Offense elements A public official who accepts a bribe from a developer, both cash and a plot of land, but does not explicitly reach agreement with the bribor on an official act to be performed by the recipient may still be convicted of violating the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951 and 18 U.S.C. § 666, according… Continue Reading
Temporal delay between underlying fraud and subsequent wire transfer dooms wire fraud theory	By
Alain Leibman on April 29, 2009
Posted in Offense elements The Ninth Circuit recently reversed wire fraud convictions on the ground that the wire transfers upon which the 18 U.S.C. § 1343 charges were based occurred so long after the underlying activity was completed that the transfers could not be said to be "in furtherance" of a fraud. United States v. Lazarenko, No. 06-10592 (9th… Continue Reading