Conspiracy

Conspiracy has been defined as an agreement of two or more people to commit a crime, or to accomplish a legal end through illegal actions.

18 U.S.C. § 371 entitled, Conspiracy to Commit Offense or to Defraud United States, provides that if two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. If, however, the offense, the commission of which is the object of the conspiracy, is a misdemeanor only, the punishment for such conspiracy shall not exceed the maximum punishment provided for such misdemeanor.

18 U.S.C. Section 371 can be divided into two distinct conspiracy clauses:

• General Conspiracy; and
• Conspiracy to Defraud the United States.

General Conspiracy

The general conspiracy clause of 18 U.S.C. Section 371 makes it a separate Federal crime or offense for anyone to conspire or agree with someone else to do something which, if actually carried out, would amount to another Federal crime or offense. A conspiracy is an agreement or a kind of partnership with criminal purposes in which each member becomes the agent or partner of every other member. In order to establish a conspiracy offense it is not necessary for the Government to prove that all of the people charged; or that those who were members had entered into any formal type of agreement; or that the members had planned together all of the details of the scheme or the overt acts alleged were carried out in an effort to commit the intended crime.

The essence of a conspiracy offense is the making of the agreement itself, followed by the commission of any overt act. It is not necessary for the Government to prove that the conspirators actually succeeded in accomplishing their criminal plan. Nevertheless the Government must at least prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following:

An overt act is any transaction or event, even one which may be entirely innocent when considered alone, but which is knowingly committed by a conspirator in an effort to accomplish some object of the conspiracy. A person may become a member of a conspiracy without knowing all of the details of the unlawful scheme, and without knowing who all of the other members are. If a person has an understanding of the unlawful nature of a plan and knowingly and willfully joins in that plan on one occasion, that is sufficient to convict him for conspiracy even though he did not participate before, and even though he played only a minor part.

However, mere presence at the scene of a transaction or event, or the mere fact that certain persons may have associated with each other, and may have assembled together and discussed common aims and interests, does not necessarily establish proof of a conspiracy. Also, a person who has no knowledge of a conspiracy, but who happens to act in a way which advances some purpose of one, does not thereby become a conspirator.

Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

The "defraud clause" of section 371 prohibits conspiracies to defraud the United States. This clause creates a separate offense from the general conspiracy offense clause in Section 371. Both offenses require the traditional elements of Section 371 conspiracy, including an illegal agreement, criminal intent, and proof of an overt act.

Activities which courts have been held to defraud the United States under 18 U.S.C. § 371 affect the government in at least one of three ways:

• They cheat the government out of money or property;
• They interfere or obstruct legitimate Government activity; or
• They make wrongful use of a governmental instrumentality.
  
  

The purpose of this part of the statute is to protect governmental functions from frustration and distortion through deceptive practices. This part of section 371 reaches any conspiracy for the purpose of impairing, obstructing or defeating the lawful function of any department of Government. The "defraud clause” of section 371 criminalizes any willful impairment of a legitimate function of government, whether or not the improper acts or objective are criminal under another statute. The word "defraud" in Section 371 not only reaches financial or property loss through use of a scheme or artifice to defraud but also is designed and intended to protect the integrity of the United States and its agencies, programs and policies. Thus, proof that the United States has been defrauded under this statute does not require any showing of monetary or proprietary loss.

The intent required for a conspiracy to defraud the government is that the defendant possessed the intent (a) to defraud, (b) to make false statements or representations to the government or its agencies in order to obtain property of the government, or (c) that the defendant performed acts or made statements that he/she knew to be false, fraudulent or deceitful to a government agency, which disrupted the functions of the agency or of the government. It is sufficient for the government to prove that the defendant knew the statements were false or fraudulent when made. The government is not required to prove the statements ultimately resulted in any actual loss to the government of any property or funds, only that the defendant's activities impeded or interfered with legitimate governmental functions.

Conspiracy defenses are often very complex because there are almost always more that two co-conspirators charged in any one conspiracy case. Multi-defendant cases present additional defensive challenges because oftentimes many defendants immediately attempt to eliminate or minimize their criminal liability by cooperating with the prosecution. The prosecution is almost invariably ready, willing, and able to compensate the cooperating witness with pre-trial release and/or very favorable sentencing recommendations. While the veracity of snitch testimony can always be called into question, it must be precisely and tactfully done. The legal professionals at the Law Offices of Roderick C. White have both the experience and expertise to aggressively develop successful defense strategies in multi-defendant conspiracy cases. Contact us immediately for a free initial consultation. Whether or not you hire us to prepare your defense, you will definitely benefit from a discussion our perspectives and approaches.