What is Wire Fraud?

Under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014, it is a federal crime to commit fraud using a wire communication that travels in interstate or foreign commerce.
The essential element of criminal wire fraud is that the defendant Devised or intended to devise a scheme or artifice to defraud another person based on a material representation with the intent to defraud through the use of interstate wire facilities (e.g. telecommunications of any kind).
This can include fraud perpetrated over the telephone, or through the internet or television advertising.
As in the case of mail fraud, this statute is often used as a basis for a separate federal prosecution of what would otherwise have been only a violation of a state law.

Examples of Phone Fraud:

• 809 scams take their name from the former +1 (809) area code which used to cover most of the Caribbean nations. The numbers *look* like Canadian or US telephone numbers but turn out to be costly, overpriced international calls.
• Telemarketing fraud takes a number of forms; solicitations for the sale of goods or investments which are never delivered or worthless and requests for donations to bogus unregistered charities are not uncommon. Scams in which a caller attempts to obtain banking or credit card information also frequently occur.

Examples of Internet Fraud:
The term "Internet fraud" generally refers to any type of fraud scheme that uses one or more online services - such as chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, or Web sites - to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected with the scheme.
Most Internet fraud is done through the use of stolen credit card information.

• Phishing has been widely used by fraudsters using spam messages masquerading as large banks. These fraudsters can copy the code and graphics from legitimate websites and use them on their own sites to create legitimate-looking scam web pages.
• Pump-and-dump schemes utilize false and/or fraudulent information disseminated in chat rooms, forums and via email (spamming), with the purpose of causing a dramatic price increase in thinly traded stocks or stocks of shell companies (the "pump"). As soon as the price reaches a certain level, criminals immediately sell off their holdings of those stocks (the "dump"), realizing substantial profits before the stock price falls back to its usual low level.
• Money Transfers Fraud consists of an employment offer to help transfer money to a foreign company, supposedly because it costs too much to do it through other methods (which is usually not the case).

What are the penalties associated with a Federal Wire Fraud charge?

A Federal conviction of Wire fraud can carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.

Do I need a lawyer to represent me if I am innocent?
Every criminal defendant needs an attorney. Innocent defendants are perhaps in even greater need of zealous representation throughout the criminal process to ensure that their rights are protected.

Do I need a lawyer if I simply intend to plead guilty ?
You may not understand the full implications of the crime with which you are charged. Criminal defense attorneys equalize the balance of power between the defendant and the prosecution and ensure that the constitutional rights that are guaranteed to all criminal defendants are preserved.

Kuniansky & Associates
The Lyric Centre
440 Louisiana , Suite 200
Houston, Texas 77002
Office: 713-622-8333
Fax: 713-224-2815