United States v. Sampson
United States Supreme Court
371 U.S. 75 (1962)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Officers, directors, and employees of a corporation (OD&E) (defendants) made representations to businesspeople that they would assist them in obtaining loans or selling their businesses. The OD&E contacted and encouraged prospects to apply for services and send refundable advance fees. When an application and a check for the advance fee were received, the check was deposited, and a signed copy of the accepted application was mailed to the victim. The purpose of the accepted application was to lull the victim into believing that his application had been accepted and the services would be performed. The OD&E were indicted for mail fraud for falsely and fraudulently representing that they would perform services they did not intend to perform. The district court dismissed the mail-fraud counts on the ground that the signed acceptances were mailed after the OD&E had obtained the money from their victims and therefore the mailings could not have been for the purpose of executing the fraudulent scheme. The government (plaintiff) appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Black, J.)
Dissent (Douglas, J.)
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