NCJ Number
129585
Date Published
1991
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Two statutes have been enacted as part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 to supplement the Federal government's ability to deal with fraud; one prohibits bank fraud and is patterned after mail and wire fraud statutes, while the other allows the government to enjoin conduct that violates mail, wire, or bank fraud statutes.
Abstract
The bank fraud statute was recently amended as part of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989. Its penalty provisions have been dramatically increased, and the period in which charges may be filed before the statute of limitations expires has doubled. Perimeters of the bank fraud statute, however, have not been firmly established. There is little doubt that prosecutors and private civil plaintiffs under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act will attempt to expand it until its scope is as all-encompassing as mail and wire fraud statutes on which it is patterned. Amendments in 1988 to the injunction statute expanded its scope to include false claims against the Federal government and conspiracies to defraud the United States. The fraud injunction statute presents the government with a significant opportunity to stop fraudulent schemes in progress where either the government or the public is the victim. In addition, this statute may be of substantial relief to innocent third-party financial institutions who find themselves as stakeholders of fraudulently obtained funds. 18 notes