Brad Bailey Boston Criminal Defense Attorney
with a National Reputation for Excellence

In order to be convicted of securities fraud the government must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. That a defendant used a device or scheme to defraud someone, made an untrue statement of a material fact, or failed to disclose a material fact which resulted in making the defendant's statements misleading.
2. That a defendant's acts or failure to disclose information was in connection with the purchase or sale of securities (e.g., bond, notes, stock).
3. That a defendant used the mail or the telephone in connection with these acts.
4. That a defendant acted for the purpose of defrauding buyers or sellers of securities.

To defraud someone means to make a statement or representation which is untrue and known to the defendant to be untrue. It could also mean that a defendant knowingly failed to state something which is necessary to make other statements true and which relates to something important to the purchase or sale.

It is not necessary that the untrue statement itself passed through the mail or over the telephone so long as the mail or telephone was used as a part of the purchase or sale transaction.

It is also not necessary that the defendant made a profit or that anyone actually suffered a loss.