Louisiana Wire Fraud Defense Attorneys

What is Wire Fraud, and is it a State or Federal Crime?

Wire fraud is a federal criminal offense that involves schemes to defraud another person using electronic communication, either across state lines or internationally. The federal wire fraud statute specifies that the crime is committed through wire, radio, and television communication and can include many fraud offenses involving computers and the internet. 

The Different Elements of Wire Fraud

Different federal courts have developed varying lists of elements that the prosecution must prove to obtain a conviction for wire fraud, but they have similar elements. To obtain a wire fraud conviction, a prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

• The defendant took part in a scheme to defraud another person (like obtaining money or something else of value through false pretenses)
• The defendant acted knowingly or with intent to defraud
• The defendant made false representations that were material to scheme or defraud 
• The defendant transmitted material that is a misrepresentation by wire, radio, or television communications in interstate or foreign commerce

A person may be convicted of wire fraud even if they never actually defrauded anyone. The accused may also be convicted even if they did not personally send the fraudulent wire or radio or television transmission. The burden of proof that falls on the prosecution is to prove that defendant intended to defraud someone or knowingly used wire communications to transmit fraudulent information. It is sufficient for the state to prove that the defendant caused the use of a wire to transmit to commit or further the fraudulent scheme, even if the defendant did not intend the specific transmission if the act was reasonably foreseeable “in the ordinary course of business.” 

What Types of Communications and Activities Constitute Wire Fraud?

The word wire encompasses the use of a phone, the internet, and the incorporation of any signs, signals, pictures, sounds, and writings that has been interpreted to cover all forms of cellular, digital, telephonic, and online communications. Within the context of a federal fraud investigation that following types of wire communications may be considered wire fraud:

• Text messages, phone calls, email, and other forms of communication between alleged co-conspirators
• Fraudulent communications used to collect financial and personal information
• Spam, telemarketing, phone calls, text messages, and phishing emails
• Fraudulent and falsified invoices
• Fraudulent billings under federal government benefit programs and federal government contracts
• Website, social media, and other media misrepresenting the nature or quality of services, products, or securities
• Online auctions, sells, or other transactions in which the terms of agreement were not fulfilled 
• Fraudulent sweepstakes and lotteries conducted over the phone or internet
• Sending a fax that furthers a scheme to defraud
• Initiating or causing someone else to initiate a wire transfer of money that’s connected to a scheme to defraud

Terms such as “scheme” and “artifice” don’t have a clear definition and are open to broad interpretation that includes acts of false pretenses, embezzlement, and other forms of wrongdoing that result in the deprivation of government or private property.