In this article, we examine a recent limitation placed by the Second Circuit on federal prosecutors’ ability to charge extraterritorial wire fraud cases—one that could provide opportunities for defense attorneys to challenge those cases, which are being brought more frequently in our increasingly interconnected world.

Background

For many years running, wire fraud has been the most frequently used statute in federal criminal prosecutions. As Judge Rakoff wrote during his tenure as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, the wire fraud statute (along with its ancestor, the mail fraud statute) is “our Stradivarius, our Colt 45, our Louisville Slugger, our Cuisinart—and our true love.” Jed S. Rakoff, The Federal Mail Fraud Statute (Part I), 8 Duq. L. Rev. 771, 771 (1980). Federal prosecutors have used wire fraud to reach increasingly expansive categories of conduct—charging defendants with perpetrating international bribery schemes, misappropriating confidential regulatory information, and depriving investors of accurate information. See, e.g., United States v. Boustani, No. 18 Cr. 681 (WFK) (E.D.N.Y.); United States v. Middendorf, No. 18 Cr. 36 (JPO) (S.D.N.Y); United States v. Carlo, 507 F.3d 799 (2d Cir. 2007).