Under the Collar

As discussed earlier, the wire fraud statute can be used to impose punishment for each wire transmission that relates to a scheme to defraud. Is there a government interest in protecting us from deceitful wire transmissions and preserving the internet for virtuous intentions? Any amount of time spent on any social media platform should answer that question for you. The interest is protecting the public against schemes to defraud, and the use of wires is the jurisdictional hook—the interstate component of the crime that enables the federal government to prosecute. The crux of the ...