NCJ Number
227158
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 46 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2009 Pages: 621-670
Date Published
2009
Length
49 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the development and application of three Federal criminal statutes that define offenses by or against financial institutions.
Abstract
The article’s first section reviews the Bank Fraud Statute (Title 18 of the U.S. Code, section 1344), whose purpose is to protect the interests of the Federal Government as an insurer of financial institutions. The impetus for this legislation was the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Williams v. United States, in which the Court held that the crime of making false statements to financial institutions did not encompass check-kiting schemes. In reaction to this ruling, Congress passed section 1344 in order to give the Federal Government the means to prosecute check-kiting. The Bank Fraud statute also criminalizes a variety of other schemes intended to defraud federally insured financial institutions. In addition, this statute covers a variety of offenses against financial institutions, including check forging, false statements, nondisclosures on loan applications, stolen checks, unauthorized use of automated teller machines, credit card fraud, student loan fraud, bogus transactions between offshore “shell” banks and domestic banks, automobile title frauds, diversion of funds by bank employees, submission of fraudulent credit card receipts, false statements intended to induce check cashing, and mortgage fraud. In addition to discussing the provisions of the statute, the article identifies and explains defenses to charges brought under the statute. Penalties and supplemental enforcement mechanisms under this statute are discussed as well. Another section of the article reviews the scope, elements, and penalties of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, which regulates the conduct of officers, directors, and third-party fiduciaries who fraudulently managed now-defunct financial institutions. The article’s concluding section explains the purpose, recordkeeping requirements, and reporting requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act, which prohibits deceptive financial transactions designed to evade certain reporting requirements. 387 notes