Supreme Court Decision Alert - December 12, 2016

Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued one decision, described below, of interest to the business community:

Bank Fraud—Fraud Against Bank By An Employee

Shaw v. United States, No. 15-5991

A unanimous Court today clarified the scope of the federal bank fraud statute, rejecting several efforts to narrow the subsection that criminalizes the knowing execution of a scheme "to defraud a financial institution." 18 U.S.C. s 1344(1). Petitioner Shaw had fraudulently transferred funds from a bank customer's account to accounts that Shaw controlled. Shaw contended that he could not be liable in the absence of proof that his conduct was directed at harming the bank. The Court held, first, that the statute did not require proof of a specific intent to defraud the bank as well as the customer because the bank had a property interest in the deposited funds. Second, proof of intent to cause the bank financial harm was unnecessary so long as the fraud was intended to induce the