Will I Go to Prison for Wire Fraud?

 Posted on October 28, 2024 in Fraud

Wire fraud is a serious federal crime that can result in many years in prison and heavy fines. Wire fraud prosecutions have reached an all-time high, with high-profile cases including FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. As we will see, however, wire fraud can lead to heavy penalties in much milder cases.

This article will discuss what wire fraud is, its penalties, and how it is prosecuted. For more details or to discuss your specific case, contact an Illinois federal wire fraud defense attorney.

What Is Wire Fraud?

Wire fraud is the act of using interstate electronic communications to commit fraud. Today, most of us engage in interstate electronic communications multiple times each day by using the internet or cellular data. If an email, social media message, or text is used in the course of fraudulent activity it may constitute wire fraud.

What Are the Penalties for Wire Fraud?

The penalties for wire fraud are set in 18 U.S.C. 1343, and they are:

• Up to 20 years in prison
• A fine of up to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for organizations
• Up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million if the fraud is committed against a financial institution or involves a presidentially declared emergency

Note that these penalties are per count of wire fraud, and a defendant who sent several communications when committing fraud can be charged with multiple counts.

How Are Wire Fraud Cases Prosecuted?

Like other crimes, wire fraud cases are generally prosecuted according to sentencing guidelines set by the United States Sentencing Commission. The guidelines include a punishment scale of 42 levels that can be applied to any federal offense, with level one being the most lenient and level 42 being the harshest. Each crime starts on a certain level and can advance higher depending on certain factors.

Wire fraud, for example, starts on the seventh level, which recommends a prison sentence of up to six months. But this is just the base offense level. More levels are added depending on factors such as:

• Prior criminal history
• The loss amount, which is the amount of money that was lost due to the fraud
• The number of victims
• Whether the defendant had a leadership role
• The nature of the fraud scheme

Having a prior criminal history, for example, can bump the sentence up two levels. The number of victims may result in a six-level increase. A loss amount of up to $1.5 million might advance 14 levels. When all this is taken into account, the prosecution may ask for a significant prison sentence.

A first-time offender convicted of wire fraud in a $100,000 scheme, for instance, might be sentenced to 18 months in prison, while the leader of a crime ring that defrauded victims out of $3 million might be sentenced to seven years. Last year, a Gatlinburg woman was sentenced to 27 months in prison for one count of wire fraud involving COVID-19, which is a presidentially declared emergency.

Contact a Chicago, IL Federal Wire Fraud Defense Attorney

The sentencing guidelines for wire fraud are complex, and specific factors in your case may aggravate or reduce your sentence. Give yourself the best legal defense possible by contacting Law Offices of Hal M. Garfinkel LLC, Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney. As a former prosecutor, attorney Hal Garfinkel is familiar with how sentencing is calculated and will fight aggressively to reduce yours. Schedule a free consultation with a Chicago, IL federal wire fraud defense lawyer today by calling 312-629-0669 now.