There are several conspiracy statutes the criminal federal law. The general catchall federal conspiracy is simply an agreement between two or more persons to “commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency”.
In order to convict a person under the conspiracy statute, the government must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. That two or more persons, in some way came to a mutual agreement to try to commit a crime;
2. That the Defendant willfully became a member of the conspiracy;
3. That one of the conspirators knowingly committed at least one of the overt acts charged in the indictment; and
4. That this “overt act” was knowingly committed at or about the time alleged in an effort to carry out or accomplish some object of the conspiracy.
When it comes to fraud against some governmental agencies, one thing to remember is that the defendants don’t have to commit the fraud directly against the agency. It’s enough if the conspiracy plan caused some third party to unintentionally defraud the governmental agency. It only matters that in the end the fraud was directed against the government.
For example, let’s consider a Medicaid fraud conspiracy. Say the government creates a program to reimburse healthcare providers but indirectly, through an intermediary company or agency. The government hires this agency to administer the program and report back to the government. If, say, a healthcare professional and his office manager intentionally submit bills to this company charging Medicaid for the services that were not provided and the company pays the bills, this would be considered a conspiracy against the United States because the federal government ultimately is the target.
Conspiracy is one of the most commonly used criminal federal statutes. One of the most effective defenses against a conspiracy charge is that there was no agreement to commit a crime but you will need to discuss your case with an experienced attorney to determine what the best defense strategy would be.
If you have been accused of a conspiracy crime in New York, call our experienced NYC criminal lawyers today at (212) 577 -6677 to set up a confidential consultation.