United States v. Ratcliff

488 F.3d 639 (2007)

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United States v. Ratcliff

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
488 F.3d 639 (2007)

CS

Facts

Barney Dewey Ratcliff, Jr., (defendant) was the incumbent parish president for Livingston Parish, Louisiana, and was running for reelection. Under a campaign finance law, candidates for public office in Louisiana were restricted from accepting any contributions, loans, or loan guarantees in excess of $2,500 from any individual and were required to file campaign-finance-disclosure reports with the Louisiana Board of Ethics. Over the course of his campaign for reelection, Ratcliff secured a number of large loans with the help of some wealthy constituents, in violation of the campaign-finance law. Ratcliff misled the ethics board during its investigations into these shady financial deals. Ratcliff won the election and was later indicted for 14 counts of mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341. The charges alleged that Ratcliff had secured his reelection through the illegal loans and that he had used the mail to defraud Livingston Parish of his elected-official salary and benefits through his misrepresentations to the ethics board. The district court granted Ratcliff’s motion to dismiss the charges on the basis that the alleged activities did not defraud anyone of money or property as required by the statute. The government appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (King, J.)

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