What is Wire Fraud?
If you engage in any kind of conduct that is considered fraudulent and intended to deceive using a wire transfer or the internet, the government can charge you with wire fraud.
Key Takeaways
An individual will usually be charged with “conspiracy to commit wire fraud” because it is fairly easy to prove that they were directly or indirectly engaged in fraud or deceit.
You are not necessarily accountable for the amount of money that you personally received, but the amount that you intended to take from that individual.
Wire fraud is a far reaching crime, that can be any kind of communication that you have had, or any use of the Internet, that is usually involving money.
If you engage in any kind of conduct like a wire transfer, or a conversation via email that is fraudulent, and is intended to deceive, the government can charge you with wire fraud.
On top of charging with wire fraud, they often use “conspiracy” to charge to this, which means that if there's any sort of an agreement that they can prove either, directly or indirectly, between you and any other individual to commit a crime or to engage in fraud, or deceit, and then you use the wire, they can charge you with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. This makes much easier for the government to prove their case (which is why they use “conspiracy”).
Let's say that an individual is wiring funds to you for a product that you've lied to them about. Your sentence in that case would be based on the amount of money that was involved.
Now, it does not have to be the amount of money that you personally received. It is only the amount that you intended to take from that individual.
So for instance, pretend your friend tells you, “Hey, I got this great investment opportunity. I can double your money but I need $10 million to make it happen..It’s a sure thing!” You then find 10 investors to invest $10 million into your friend’s scheme. You take their money and you send the $10 million to your friend. But instead of investing the money, your friend skips town with the cash. You're the one who's charged. Your sentence is based on that $10 million, because that is the amount of money the victims lost.
Even though you didn't see a penny of it, it is extremely frustrating because not only do you get charged with a $10 million investment fraud, you get charged with wire fraud because they wired you the money, and then you have to pay restitution to the victims to the tune of $10 million.
Whether you have the money or not isn’t the issue. But understand there will be a restitution order and eventually a judgment against you for that $10 million. So that is why wire fraud is a very wide reaching crime. And again, anytime you use any either a bank wire or the internet as part of a scheme, wire fraud is a charge that the government will always use.