Mail Fraud

What is Mail Fraud?

Mail fraud is a federal crime that sounds complicated, but one that really is quite simple to understand. Many of those who stand convicted of this offense did not realize they were breaking federal laws when they engaged in mail fraud. At its core, mail fraud occurs when individuals use the United States mail system to further a criminal act. Federal prosecutors or grand juries charge this crime under Title 18 of the U.S. Criminal Code, Title 1341. Each count carries a maximum term of 30 years in prison, and a $1 million fine.

As a long-term federal prisoner, I have served time with scores of defendants who were convicted of mail fraud offenses. In articles I’ve published on criminal-indictment.com, profiles are available that detail how prosecutors used the mail fraud statute to charge business owners with crime.

One of the mail fraud articles is titled Husband and Wife Serve Years In Separate Prisons. It describes how Charles and Susan, a husband and wife team, used the mail system to promote their leasing company. That case of mail fraud originated because the company printed brochures that promised prospective investors a rate of return that did not materialize. Complaints led to a criminal investigation. The United States Postal Service determined that the company Charles and Susan operated misled recipients through their brochures. By using the mail service to distribute the allegedly fraudulent documents, Charles and Susan committed the crime of mail fraud.

I offer what I have learned from many business owners. Those individuals did not launch their businesses with the intent to deceive or defraud others. Yet circumstances for which those business owners were not prepared led them into decisions that exposed them to criminal prosecutions. Charges for mail fraud resulted when fraudulent documents were sent through the U.S. Post Service.

Those who confront charges for mail fraud would be well served to read about others who have struggled through those challenges before. The people I have written about describe what they learned from the process, and what they would have done differently had they known more about the criminal justice system. I urge defendants of mail fraud charges to read through the Profiles section of criminal-indictment.com, and to read through the Topical Report titled Confronting the Criminal Justice System. Those articles will help defendants understand their options and they will help them make better decisions.