Criminal Defense Lawyer Michael Leonard discusses potential impact of Kousisis Supreme Court case. Many have inquired about how the United States Supreme Court’s decision in the recently argued United States v. Kousisis case will change the scope of Federal fraud prosecutions.
At the recent oral argument, the Supreme Court appeared ready to reverse or remand – or vacate conviction.
During oral argument, certain of the Justices posed questions that suggested that they viewed this as an old-fashioned rule of the mill scheme to defraud another so as to obtain property from it under false pretenses. However, the Justices as a whole posed many hypos to attempt to ascertain the parties’ positions about what conduct actually rises to a level of actionable fraud. Those questions seemed to reflect a focus on what qualifies as “economic harm,” as opposed to the issue of whether a deceptive or false statement or conduct, without such harm, can constitute Federal criminal fraud.
The Justices also addressed the issue of “materiality.” The Government came at that issue from the standpoint of arguing that the issue for the Court under the statute was whether the alleged deceptive activity was with regard to the heart of the parties’ agreed upon bargain.
The Supreme Court is not likely to provide its Opinion until July, 2025.
Stay tuned. In the interim, Leonard Trial Lawyers is a go-to law firm with regard to the defense of any Federal investigations or prosecutions, with a long track record of obtaining not guilty jury verdicts, deferred prosecutions, and excellent sentencing results, when that is needed.
Michael Leonard
Leonard Trial Lawyers
December 23, 2024