Bank Fraud is the most common theft charge filed in Federal Court. The Secret Service, F.B.I., and sometimes local law enforcement agencies will bring cases to federal prosecutors for suspected crimes against banks or financial institutions. These criminal activities include making false statements to a bank, money laundering, theft and counterfeiting of bank cashier's checks, money orders, payroll checks, credit cards, debit cards, and U.S. or foreign currencies.

Defendants can be liable even if they were not involved in the beginning of the scheme but instead joined later. Financial loss is not necessarily required; rather, the only requirement is that the bank was the intended victim. In order words, the scheme to defraud need not succeed and the defendant does not have to actually receive a benefit: only a risk of loss is sufficient. In some cases, an undercover officer may be involved in the scheme, but that officer cannot conduct or illegally encourage behavior that would be considered entrapment.

False statements made to a bank or financial institution is also specifically prohibited under Title 18 of the United States Code. These false statements may relate to income, savings, assets, or other information gathered by the bank which may materially cause an injury to the bank.

However, there is an important defense which must be overcome beyond a reasonable doubt by the government. The defendant must have had the intent to defraud the bank. Therefore, if the defendant had intent to victimize a third party and the bank suffered a loss, this is not a violation of the bank fraud statute. There are many examples of bank fraud being overcharged by the federal government and we have successfully had bank fraud charges dropped against our clients.

If you need help at the investigative stage, after being charged, or on appeal, give the federal criminal defense attorneys at Arnold Law Firm, LLC a call regarding your criminal case. We have the experience, knowledge, and expertise to help defend banking fraud cases from simple loan applications to complex, multi-state money laundering enterprises. We are admitted to state and federal courts in Florida and Georgia.

Below are the two most commonly prosecuted bank fraud laws under the United States Code.

18 U.S.C. § 1344. Bank fraud

Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice-

(1) to defraud a financial institution; or

(2) to obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits, assets, securities, or other property owned by, or under the custody or control of, a financial institution, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises;

shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

§ 1014. Loan and credit applications generally; renewals and discounts; crop insurance

Whoever knowingly makes any false statement or report, or willfully overvalues any land, property or security, for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of the Farm Credit Administration, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation or a company the Corporation reinsures, the Secretary of Agriculture acting through the Farmers Home Administration or successor agency, the Rural Development Administration or successor agency, any Farm Credit Bank, production credit association, agricultural credit association, bank for cooperatives, or any division, officer, or employee thereof, or of any regional agricultural credit corporation established pursuant to law, or a Federal land bank, a Federal land bank association, a Federal Reserve bank, a small business investment company, as defined in section 103 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 662), or the Small Business Administration in connection with any provision of that Act, a Federal credit union, an insured State-chartered credit union, any institution the accounts of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, any Federal home loan bank, the Federal Housing Finance Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation, or the National Credit Union Administration Board, a branch or agency of a foreign bank (as such terms are defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978), or an organization operating under section 25 or section 25(a) [1] of the Federal Reserve Act, upon any application, advance, discount, purchase, purchase agreement, repurchase agreement, commitment, or loan, or any change or extension of any of the same, by renewal, deferment of action or otherwise, or the acceptance, release, or substitution of security therefor, shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both. The term "State-chartered credit union" includes a credit union chartered under the laws of a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

Statutes above are up to date from www.law.cornell.edu as of October 1, 2009.