**************************************************************************** >C O M P U T E R U N D E R G R O U N D< >D I G E S T< *** Volume 1, Issue #1.18 (June 25, 1990) ** **************************************************************************** MODERATORS: Jim Thomas (Sole moderator: Gordon Meyer on vacation) REPLY TO: TK0JUT2@NIU.bitnet COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of diverse views. -------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent the views of the moderators. Contributors assume all responsibility for assuring that articles submitted do not violate copyright protections. -------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************** *** CuD, Issue #1.18 / File 3 of 5 /Title 18 USC Sect 1343 *** *************************************************************** %We asked Mike Godwin to forward a copy of Title 18 USC %section% 1343 because it is the basis of eight of the 11 counts (the other 3 allege violations of section 2314). ------------------------------------------------------------------ 18 USC 1343: Sec. 1343. Fraud by wire, radio, or television 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, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pic- tures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined not more than $1000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. [Ed. note: This statute was modelled on the mail-fraud statute, 18 USC 1341:] Sec. 1341. Frauds and swindles 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, distrib- ute, supply, or furnish or procure for unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation, securi- ty, 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 takes or receives therefrom, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail 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 not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. ------------------------ Please note the breadth of the statutes. They're primarily designed to enable federal jurisdiction in larger-scale crimes, since almost everybody committing a crime ultimately ends up using the mails or the phone system or both. Are there any limits to federal jurisdiction at all? Maybe, but they're pretty tenuous. The leading cases delimiting mail fraud (and, by extension, wire fraud) are: Parr v. U.S., 363 U.S. 370 (1960) U.S. v. Maze, 414 U.S. 395 (1974) U.S. v. Tarnopol, 561 F.2d 466 (3d Circuit 1977) Schmuck v. U.S., 109 S.Ct. 1443 (1989) Maze is a particularly useful discussion. Not only is then-Justice Rehnquist's majority opinion instructive on the (possible) limits of mail fraud, but then-Chief Justice Burger's dissent is helpful in understanding the tactical significance of mail-fraud counts--it explains how and why such counts are so often included in federal prosecutions of NEW types of crime. --Mike =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ + END THIS FILE + +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+===+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=  Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253 12yrs+