Bank fraud

Las Vegas White Collar Crime Lawyer Tells What You Face If Charged with Bank Fraud

Bank fraud is a federal crime that can brings serious penalties and long jail times.

If you have been arrested for attempting to defraud a bank, or for defrauding a bank, contact one of the criminal attorneys at LV Criminal Defense as soon as possible to begin defending you.

Legal Definition of Bank Fraud

Federal law defines bank fraud as knowingly:

• Using a scheme or planning a scheme to defraud a financial institution;
• To obtain money, credit, assets, securities, or other property owned or controlled by a financial institution;
• Through false pretenses or fraudulent representations or promises.

What is a scheme to defraud a financial institution?

A scheme to defraud a bank is not the same as bank robbery. A bank robbery involves physically taking money away from a bank using force or the threat of force.

A scheme to defraud a bank does not require a person to physically enter the bank. Instead, any of the following activities can be considered schemes to defraud a bank:

• Creating and cashing or depositing fake checks;
• Fraudulent accounting methods;
• Diverting funds from the rightful owner’s account; or
• Other false statements or omissions that result in loss of the bank’s money.

What is required to prove that bank fraud was done knowingly?

The government must prove that a person acted intentionally to defraud the bank, and did not make an innocent accounting mistake, for example. In a 2014 United States Supreme Court case called Loughrin v. United States, the Court made two important rulings about intent:

• Even if the bank is not actually defrauded, but an attempt to defraud a bank was made, bank fraud charges are still appropriate; and
• Using bank instruments such as checks to defraud a store, even if the bank itself is not defrauded, also meet the intent requirement for a bank fraud charge.

Sentencing for Bank Fraud under Federal Law

Using federal law, a prosecutor in Nevada can ask for the maximum penalty for bank fraud:

• Up to $1 million in fines; and
• Up to 30 years in a federal prison.

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