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The Crime of Bank Fraud, and the Question of Intent

By Laura Grossfield Birger
January 29, 2013

White-collar crimes tend to turn on issues of knowledge and intent. The question is rarely whether a particular e-mail was sent or a transaction occurred; it is whether an individual intended to defraud someone in the process. For that reason, the question of precisely what kind of fraudulent intent is necessary for a prosecution is particularly important. Frequently, prosecutors rely on circumstantial proof of general fraudulent intent. Thus, proof of deceptive or evasive conduct is often offered ' and is deemed sufficient ' to meet the prosecution's burden.

In a recent case, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit underscored that plainly fraudulent conduct is not always sufficient to satisfy the strictures of particular federal statutes. In the case of bank fraud, the Second Circuit has previously interpreted the federal statute to require specific intent to harm a financial institution. That holding was put to the test recently in United States v. Nkansah, 699 F.3d 743 (2d Cir. 2012).

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