united-states fraud
Why WIRE fraud?
<p>On January 4th, 2022, Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty on three accounts of <em>wire fraud</em> (plus a conspiracy).</p>
<p>The concept strikes me as odd: Why would the communication medium make a difference in the case of fraud? Whether I mail a letter (mail fraud per 18 U.S.C. § 1341), send an email (wire fraud per 18 U.S.C. § 1343, even if no wire whatsoever may be involved) or use a bush drum (none of the above): The fraudulent intent, act and damage is the same, hence the punishment should be the same.</p>
<p>Why this oddity of paying attention to the medium?</p>

<p>The law as you see it today is the product of its history. 18 USC 1343 descends from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Act_of_1934" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Communications Act of 1934</a> which created the FCC, as <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-66/pdf/STATUTE-66-Pg711.pdf#page=1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">an amendment</a> to an existing law that regulated wire and broadcast communications is criminalizing acts which take place in this newly carved-out chunk of federal authority, &quot;by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce&quot;. Previously, the federal government had carved out authority to criminalize mail fraud. The original purpose of the act that led to 18 USC 1343 is precisely &quot;the medium&quot;, and as an amendment to that law, the medium is essential.</p>
<p>Of course Congress could have thought &quot;maybe we should gather together all of the federal laws pertaining to fraud and and have just a single law&quot;, but that is a burdensome political process. Instead, what typically happens is that the original substance of  laws remains in place, until a compelling reason emerges to substantially revise the law.</p>

<p>The medium is the source of Congress’s power to create a <strong>federal</strong> offence. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerce_Clause" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Commerce Clause</a> gives Congress the power “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States.” So, the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1343" rel="nofollow noreferrer">wire fraud statute</a> prohibits frauds committed “by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises … transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication <strong>in interstate or foreign commerce</strong>.”</p>
