For a defendant to be found guilty of mail fraud, a jury must be convinced that the government has proven each of the following things beyond a reasonable doubt:
- That there was a scheme, substantially as charged in an indictment, to defraud or to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses.
- That the scheme to defraud involved the misrepresentation or concealment of a material fact or matter or the scheme to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses involved a false statement, assertion, half-truth or knowing concealment concerning a material fact or matter.
- That a defendant knowingly and willfully participated in this scheme with the intent to defraud.
- That for the purpose of executing the scheme or in furtherance of the scheme, a defendant caused the United States mail to be used, or it was reasonably foreseeable that the United States mail would be used.
A scheme includes any plan, pattern or course of action. The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the scheme was substantially as charged in an indictment.
The term “defraud” means to deceive another in order to obtain money or property. It includes a scheme to deprive another of the intangible right of the honest services of government officials.
The term “false or fraudulent pretenses” means any false statements or assertions that were either known to be untrue when made or were made with reckless indifference to their truth and that were made with the intent to defraud. The term includes actual, direct false statements as well as halftruths and the knowing concealment of facts.
A “material” fact or matter is one that has a natural tendency to influence or be capable of influencing the decision of the decisionmaker to whom it was addressed.