The Supreme Court Agrees to Decide Another Mail/Wire Fraud Question

July 8, 2024  |  New York Law Journal

Consistent with its keen interest in the scope of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes, the Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in United States v. Kousisis, 82 F.4th 230 (3d Cir. 2023), cert. granted, No. 23-909, 2024 WL 3014​475 (U.S. June 17, 2024), in which the Third Circuit upheld the wire fraud conviction of a contractor who made false certifications of disadvantaged business enterprise participation in a publicly-funded project.  Last term, in Ciminelli v. United States, 598 U.S. 306 (2023), the Supreme Court invalidated the “right to control” theory of “money or property” fraud.  In their latest article for the NYLJ, “The Supreme Court Agrees to Decide Another Mail/Wire Fraud Question,” Morvillo Abramowitz partners Elkan Abramowitz and Jonathan S. Sack explain that attention has now turned to the question presented in Kousisis, which has split the circuit courts:  whether false statements that induce economic transactions constitute mail/wire fraud if the victim nonetheless receives the benefit of the bargain.  

The Supreme Court Agrees to Decide Another Mail/Wire Fraud Question (pdf | 133.46 KB)