Defending against mail and wire fraud, P.2

On Behalf of | Jul 19, 2015 | White Collar Crimes

In our last post, we began speaking about mail and wire fraud statutes and the importance of working with an experienced attorney to build a strong defense case. Because there are very particular requirements that must be met to fulfill the elements of these crimes, it is important to carefully scrutinize the evidence with the assistance of a skilled defense attorney.

In terms of intent, it is important that defendants who made a deceptive or untrue communication in good faith to mount a strong defense at trial. Deceptive statements made without the intent to deceive do not satisfy the intent element of the charge, though statements made with intentional disregard to the truth are not made in good faith, nor is it good faith if there is intent to deceive but the defendant believes the victim will likely be unharmed or profit from the communication.

The materiality element refers to the fact that the communication must have been capable of influencing the person to whom it was addressed. In other words, a fraudulent statement which the defendant knew would have the ability to cause another to be deceived about a transaction would fulfill the materiality requirement.

We’ve only touched on some of the issues that can come up with respect to mail and wire fraud statutes. Navigating these charges is not an easy matter, and it is important for those facing them to work with an experienced attorney to ensure the government is held to its full burden of proof and that their rights are protected.