This article appeared in Business Crimes Bulletin, an ALM/Law Journal Newsletters publication that features the news and analysis you need to stay on top of the fast-changing, multi-faceted world of financial and white-collar crime.

Early returns are in, and they indicate that the Supreme Court's decision in Kelly v. United States, 140 S. Ct. 1565 (2020) — the so-called "Bridgegate" case — will be an effective tool for pruning the wild overgrowth that has built up around the federal fraud statutes.

In November, federal district judges in two separate cases dismissed wire fraud charges, finding that they ran afoul of Kelly's core precept: deception does not amount to fraud unless the defendant's object was to obtain property. These decisions are notable in demonstrating that Kelly's strictures apply to fraud cases generally and are not limited to the unusual factual setting of "Bridgegate."