Legal Definitions - common scheme

A "common scheme" refers to a pre-existing, overarching plan or design that connects a series of actions or events, often involving multiple individuals, all working towards a unified goal. This concept is frequently used in legal contexts to establish a pattern of conduct, demonstrate intent, or link seemingly separate acts to a larger unlawful enterprise. It implies a deliberate, coordinated effort rather than isolated incidents.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Financial Fraud: Imagine a scenario where a group of financial advisors consistently recommends a specific, high-fee, underperforming investment fund to their clients, even when better options are available. They do this because they receive undisclosed kickbacks from the fund manager. Over several years, numerous clients are steered into this fund, resulting in substantial losses for the clients and significant illicit gains for the advisors and fund manager.

  This illustrates a common scheme because the advisors' actions, though seemingly individual recommendations, are part of a coordinated, pre-arranged plan (the scheme to earn kickbacks) to defraud clients by pushing a specific product for personal gain. The repeated nature and shared objective demonstrate the scheme.

• Organized Theft: Consider a situation where a ring of thieves targets luxury cars in a particular metropolitan area. They use a consistent method: identifying vehicles parked in specific affluent neighborhoods, disabling their alarm systems using a particular device, and then transporting the stolen cars to a single chop shop where they are dismantled and sold for parts. This pattern repeats over several months.

  This is a common scheme because the individual car thefts are not random acts but are connected by a shared modus operandi (method of operation), a consistent target profile, and a unified purpose (stealing and dismantling luxury cars for profit). The series of actions are all components of the larger, pre-planned criminal enterprise.

• Public Corruption: A local construction company owner consistently donates large sums to a city council member's campaign. Shortly after each donation, the council member introduces and votes for zoning changes or approves permits that directly benefit the construction company's development projects, often against public interest or standard procedure. This pattern occurs over several election cycles and development projects.

  This demonstrates a common scheme because the campaign donations and the favorable council votes, while appearing as separate events, are linked by an underlying, ongoing arrangement (the scheme) to exchange political influence for business advantages. The repeated nature of the actions, all serving the same corrupt objective, reveals the existence of a common scheme.