An Episcopal Church priest and a businessman are facing federal charges after allegedly defrauding a foster care organization of approximately $10 million. A federal grand jury indicted both men, with the priest facing one count of money laundering, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and 15 counts of wire fraud while the businessman is charged with three counts of money laundering, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and 10 counts of wire fraud.
Whereas mail fraud encompasses crimes committed using physical mailing systems, wire fraud charges rely on electronic systems and can thus be much more expansive. Wire fraud is a serious federal crime because a conviction is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. However, an alleged offense involving a financial institution could be punishable by up to 30 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $1 million.
Possible Defenses Against Wire Fraud
The key phrase in Title 18 U.S. Code § 1343 is “having devised or intending to devise,” meaning an alleged offender in a wire fraud case must have had the intent to defraud another party. The most common defense against wire fraud charges usually relies on proving an alleged offender did not intend to do anything wrong.
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A suburban Chicago man who was convicted of laundering illegal narcotics proceeds was sentenced to seven years in federal prison. The man schemed to receive about $1.5 million in narcotics proceeds and send money back to traffickers in Mexico.
The United States Department of Justice and various United States Attorney’s Offices throughout the Illinois area were very busy in October detailing multiple stories of major 
Late last month, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a 33-count indictment showed that seven Chicago-area residents engaged in fraud related to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) and allegedly fraudulently obtained at least $16 million in small business loans and grants under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. Each wire fraud and money laundering charge is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.
In May of this year, ten
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