Elisha Kobre of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. Courtesy photo Recent Securities Fraud Dismissal Raises Critical Question on the Scope of the Federal Fraud Statutes
"The dismissal raises critical questions about what the government must prove to convict a defendant ... under the federal fraud statutes," according to attorney Elisha Kobre.
April 10, 2024 at 12:00 PM
5 minute read
A recent federal district court decision is making waves in the white-collar bar for dismissing a securities fraud indictment charging several defendants with participating in a pump-and-dump scheme. As alleged in United States v. Constantinescu, 4:22-CR-00612 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 20, 2024), a case in the Southern District of Texas, the defendants committed securities fraud by posting messages on social media platforms with false positive information about stocks while at the same time selling their own shares into the market at a profit. The dismissal raises critical questions about what the government must prove to convict a defendant for engaging in a "scheme to defraud" with "intent to defraud" under the federal fraud statutes.
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