United States Second Circuit

In order to convict defendants of mail and wire fraud based upon a "scheme to defraud", as in 18 U.S.C. section 1346, all that is required is proof 1) that the defendants engaged in a scheme to defraud; 2) with the intent to deprive; 3) it was foreseeable that the scheme could result in economic or pecuniary harm (more than de minimis); and 4) that the mails were used in furtherance of the scheme.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/22/2002
• Published 04/25/2002

Judges

• Before:  WALKER, Chief Judge, JACOBS, CALABRESI, CABRANES, F.I. PARKER,STRAUB, POOLER, SACK, SOTOMAYOR, KATZMANN, B.D. PARKER, and RAGGI, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Richard A. Greenberg, Newman & Greenberg, New York, N.Y. (Karl E. Pflanz;  Victor J. Rocco, New York Council of Defense Lawyers, New York, NY, of counsel) for Amicus Curiae New York Council of Defense Lawyers., Ellen S. Podgor, Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, GA (Joshua L. Dratel, New York, NY, of counsel) for Amici Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and New York Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.


• For Appellees:
  
• Barbara D. Underwood, Chief Assistant United States Attorney (Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York;  David C. James, Assistant United States Attorney, Daniel R. Alonso, Assistant United States Attorney, of counsel), Brooklyn, NY, for Appellee-Cross-Appellant., Herald Price Fahringer, Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer, Roll, Salisbury & Cambria LLP (Erica T. Dubno, of counsel), New York, NY, for Defendants-Appellants-Cross-Appellees Thomas Rybicki, Fredric Grae, and Grae, Rybicki & Partners, P.C., Barry E. Schulman, Brooklyn, NY, submitted a brief for Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee Thomas Rybicki., Ephraim Savitt, New York, NY, submitted a brief for Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee Fredric Grae.