Opinion ID: 869748
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Honest Services Mail Fraud Convictions

Text: (Counts 7, 8, 9, and 10) There was also sufficient evidence to allow a reasonable jury to convict Ciavarella on each of the honest services mail fraud convictions based on the mailing of the Statement of Financial Interests in April 2004, March 2005, April 2006, and March 2007. For an honest services mail fraud conviction, in addition to the traditional mail fraud elements and that the scheme was conducted through the use of bribes or kickbacks, the Government must also prove: (1) “that the payor provided a benefit to a public official intending that he will thereby take favorable official acts that he would not otherwise take”; and (2) “that the official accepted those benefits intending, in exchange for the benefits, to take official acts to benefit the payor.” Wright, 665 F.3d at 568. Because the jury found that the 2003 payment constituted a bribe or kickback to support Racketeering Act One, there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that Ciavarella‟s nondisclosure of that payment in his Statements of Financial Interests constituted honest services mail fraud. 45