NCJ Number
143687
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 30 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1993) Pages: 735-772
Date Published
1993
Length
38 pages
Annotation
This survey reviews three methods by which the Federal Government takes action in fraud cases that involve financial institutions.
Abstract
First, the survey reviews Federal prosecutions of bank fraud under section 1344 of Title 18 of the United States Code, the basic provision under which such crimes are charged. This section provides commentary on the statute's scope, and then examines the legislative development of the 1984 statute and later amendments and how the courts have interpreted the basic elements of the statute. The section concludes with a discussion of the relevant penalties and how courts have applied the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to determine the sentence of a convicted defendant under section 1344. The second section explores the framework by which the Federal Government brings claims against officers, directors, and third party fiduciaries who fraudulently manage defunct financial institutions. Specifically, this section discusses the application of the doctrine of "adverse domination," which has been used to toll the statute of limitations provided by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act. The final section discusses the role of the Bank Secrecy Act in preventing deceptive financial transactions by requiring certain recordkeeping. This section focuses on how the act aims to prevent individuals from deliberately "structuring" their transactions to evade the reporting requirements. 264 footnotes