Federal Mail Fraud Attorney in New York City

The Federal Mail Fraud statute is one of the most widely used in white collar criminal prosecutions. Federal criminal charges are an extremely serious matter. New York federal defense lawyers of Joseph Potashnik and Associates offer qualified legal help to clients charged with mail fraud and other federal crimes throughout New York State as well as in New Jersey.

Mail fraud charges are the most commonly tools federal prosecutors use in federal criminal white collar cases. The mail fraud statute involves (1) a ''scheme to defraud,'' and (2) a use of the mails ''for the purpose of executing'' the scheme.

The current statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (2004) provides as follows: ''Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, or 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 or attempting so to do, places 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 deposits or causes to be deposited any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate carrier, or takes or receives therefrom, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes 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, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $ 1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.''

"Use'' of the Mails

Each use of the federal mails constitutes a separate offense and each mailing is a separate count in the indictment.

The term “mail” includes not only USPS but also Federal Express and other commercial carriers.

While each mailing constitutes a separate offense, the government is permitted to base a single count on any number of mailings. Technically, it is enough to mail anything or ''knowingly cause'' anything to be mailed to be in violation of the mail fraud statute.

There is a five-year statute of limitation, so if the mailing occurred more than five years earlier, no violation of the mail fraud statute may be charged even if the scheme continued to within the limitations period.

In Furtherance of the Scheme

Simply using the mails as part of a scheme to defraud is not enough to warrant a conviction of mail fraud. The mailing must be ''for the purpose of executing'' or ''in furtherance of '' the scheme to defraud. In other words, there must be logical connection between the scheme and the specific mailing, meaning that the mailing should be part of the plot.

Scheme to Defraud

To prove a violation of Section 1341, the government must prove that the defendant had the specific intent to defraud, not just to have participated in an scheme. The government must show the defendant's willful participation in a scheme with knowledge of the fraudulent nature and with the intent that the illicit objectives be achieved.

The government will try to prove that the defendant was a knowing participant in the scheme to defraud. In some cases, it is not difficult to prove intent to defraud, especially where the defendant devised the scheme. In other cases the intent is less evident but the government still must prove that the defendant participated in the scheme with knowledge of the fraud.

The scheme to defraud does not have to successful. All the government needs to show is that defendant engaged in fraudulent activity intended to accomplish a deprivation of money or property, and used the mails in furtherance of the scheme.

A criminal federal conviction may carry harsh penalties including long prison terms. If you or someone you know have been arrested or investigated for federal mail fraud, contact our Federal Mail Faud Lawyers in New York City immediately to set up a consultation.

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