Legal Definitions - mail fraud

Mail fraud is a federal crime that occurs when someone intentionally uses the U.S. Postal Service as part of a plan to deceive others for financial gain or to deprive them of something valuable. This means that if a person devises a scheme to cheat someone out of money, property, or honest services, and they send or receive mail through the U.S. Postal Service to help carry out that scheme, they could be charged with mail fraud. The mail does not have to be the central part of the fraud, but it must play some role in advancing the deceptive plan.

To be considered mail fraud, the following elements must generally be present:

• There must be a scheme to defraud, meaning a plan to deceive someone.
• This scheme must involve material misstatements or omissions – lies or the withholding of important information.
• The goal of the scheme must be to cause a loss of money, property, or honest services to the victim.
• The U.S. Postal Service must be used in some way to further or execute this deceptive plan.

Here are some examples to illustrate how mail fraud might occur:

• Example 1: Fake Investment Opportunity

  Imagine a scammer creates a fictitious investment company, promising incredibly high returns on investments that do not actually exist. To make the scheme appear legitimate, they print professional-looking brochures and monthly "account statements" that they send to potential investors through the U.S. Mail. These documents encourage people to send money to the scammer, who then keeps the funds. In this scenario, the scammer is using the U.S. Mail to distribute false information and solicit money, directly furthering their scheme to defraud investors of their funds.

• Example 2: Bogus Charity Solicitation

  Consider an individual who sets up a fake charity claiming to help victims of a natural disaster. They design compelling fundraising letters and donation envelopes, which they then mass-mail to thousands of households across the country using the U.S. Postal Service. The letters falsely describe dire needs and urge recipients to donate generously. Donors send checks through the mail, believing their money will go to a good cause, but the individual pockets all the donations. Here, the mailing of the fraudulent solicitation letters is a direct use of the U.S. Mail to advance the scheme to defraud the public into donating to a non-existent or misrepresented charity.

• Example 3: False Insurance Claim

  Suppose a person stages a minor car accident or exaggerates injuries from a legitimate one to claim a larger insurance payout than they are entitled to. As part of their scheme, they mail fabricated medical bills, falsified police reports, or misleading claim forms to their insurance company through the U.S. Postal Service. These documents are intended to convince the insurer to approve a higher settlement. The act of mailing these false documents directly contributes to the scheme to defraud the insurance company, aiming to cause a financial loss to the insurer based on misrepresentations.