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In the Courts
Honest Services Fraud Does Not Encompass Gratuities, Says Seventh Circuit
In January, the Seventh Circuit held in United States v. Hawkins, 2015 WL 309520 (7th Cir. Jan. 26, 2015), that following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358 (2010), an honest services fraud prosecution may not be predicated upon the acceptance of a gratuity.
The defendants in Hawkins , Thomas Hawkins and John Racasi, were employed as real-estate analysts for the Cook County Board of Review. Cook County updates property assessments every three years, and the Board of Review hears complaints by taxpayers who believe their updated property assessments are too high. An undercover agent offered Hawkins and Racasi cash in exchange for lowering the assessments on certain properties. Hawkins and Racasi agreed, accepted the money, and told the agent that the assessments would be lowered.
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