FEDERAL CRIMINAL LAWYERS

Federal Mail Fraud Explained: 18 U.S.C. § 1341

You sent a FedEx package last month. Inside was an invoice for consulting services you actually provided. The work was real. The hours were accurate. The client paid without complaint.

That FedEx package is now Exhibit A in a federal mail fraud investigation.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to explain something that most people don’t understand until it’s too late: the mail fraud statute wasn’t written for you. It was written in 1872 – five years after the Civil War ended, twenty years before Ellis Island opened, when Abraham Lincoln’s assassination was still recent memory. Congress designed it to stop lottery scammers from using the postal service to reach victims across state lines. 153 years later, that same statute prosecutes your Amazon returns and your FedEx packages.

Here’s the part that should genuinely concern you. Mail fraud isn’t about mailing something fraudulent. It’s about using the mail – any mail, including FedEx, UPS, and DHL – in connection with ANY alleged scheme to defraud. The package you sent can be completely accurate. The invoice inside can reflect real work. If prosecutors decide the underlying business relationship was fraudulent, every mailing becomes a federal crime. Each one carries twenty years in prison.

The 1872 Statute That Prosecutes Your FedEx Packages

The mail fraud statute is older than the FBI. Older than the Federal Reserve. Older than the income tax. It was enacted when Ulysses S. Grant was president and people still remembered the Civil War.

Heres the historical irony that most people miss. In 1872, Congress wasnt thinking about business disputes or corporate fraud. They were trying to stop lottery operators who advertised fake sweepstakes through the mail. The postal service was the internet of its era – the way scammers reached victims they couldnt reach in person.

The original statute was narrow. It covered schemes using the U.S. Postal Service. Nothing else.

Then came 1994. Without major fanfare, Congress quietly expanded the definition of “mail” to include ANY private or commercial interstate carrier. FedEx. UPS. DHL. Your local courier service. Overnight delivery. That single amendment transformed every private package into potential federal jurisdiction.

Most people have no idea this happened. They think “mail fraud” means the postal service. They dont realize that there FedEx shipment from last Tuesday created the same federal exposure as a letter with a stamp.

The statute that was designed to catch lottery scammers now captures every buisness package you’ve ever sent. And prosecutors know exactly how to use it.

Why Mail Fraud Is Actually MORE Dangerous Than Wire Fraud

Heres something that will surprise you. Wire fraud gets all the attention – every email, every phone call, every text message. But mail fraud is actualy MORE flexible for prosecutors. And almost nobody understands why.

Wire fraud requires interstate communication. The wire must cross state lines. An email sent from Houston to Dallas might not trigger wire fraud jurisdiction if the servers were all located in Texas. Courts have wrestled with this question for years.

Mail fraud has no such requirement.

A package mailed from one side of Texas to the other – completly intrastate – triggers full federal mail fraud jurisdiction. The “mail” doesnt need to cross state lines. It just needs to use the postal service or a private carrier.

The older, seemingly “obsolete” statute is actually the broader prosecutorial weapon. Prosecutors choose mail fraud specifically when wire fraud venue or jurisdiction is questionable.

This is why your seeing mail fraud charged alongside wire fraud in almost every white collar case. Prosecutors want both options. If wire fraud jurisdiction gets challenged, mail fraud is the backup. If the statute of limitations has run on certain wire communications, maybe there mailings that are still prosecutable.

The combination isn’t redundant. Its strategic.

At Spodek Law Group, we see this pattern constantly. Clients who thought they were only exposed to wire fraud discover that every invoice, every contract, every document they ever mailed creates independent federal counts. The exposure multiplies faster then they imagined.

Your Thank-You Letter Is A Federal Crime: How “Furtherance” Works

OK so heres were mail fraud becomes genuinely terrifying. You dont have to mail anything fraudulent to commit mail fraud.

Read that again.

The mailing itself can be completely innocent. A thank-you letter. A meeting confirmation. A holiday card. An invoice for services actually rendered. If the mailing “furthered” an alleged scheme to defraud, its mail fraud.

The DOJ’s Justice Manual spells out only two elements prosecutors must prove: (1) devised or intended to devise a scheme to defraud, and (2) use of the mail for the purpose of executing, or attempting to execute, the scheme.

Notice whats missing. Theres no requirement that the mailing contain false statements. Theres no requirement that the mail itself was deceptive. The prosecutors only need to show that the mailing moved things forward – “furthered” the scheme in any way.

A letter saying “looking forward to our meeting Tuesday” furthers a scheme. An invoice for legitimate work furthers a scheme if the underlying engagement is later characterized as fraudulent. A thank-you note keeps the relationship warm and thereby furthers the scheme.

Heres the practical conseqence. Every document you’ve ever mailed in connection with any buisness relationship that later goes sideways is a potential federal mail fraud count. Every FedEx package. Every certified letter. Every contract sent via UPS.

The content of the mailing is almost irrelevant. The connection to the alleged scheme is everything.

10 Emails + 10 Invoices = 400 Years: The Count Multiplication Game

Prosecutors dont charge mail fraud OR wire fraud. They charge mail fraud AND wire fraud. This isnt accident. Its deliberate strategy.

Think about a typical buisness dispute. You sent emails. You had phone calls. You also mailed invoices, contracts, and quarterly reports. Each email is a potential wire fraud count. Each mailing is a potential mail fraud count.

Heres the math that should terrify you. 10 emails + 10 mailed documents = 20 total counts. Each count carries 20 years. Thats 400 years theoretical maximum sentence.

Nobody serves 400 years. Thats not the point.

The point is leverage. When your facing 20 counts across two federal statutes, the calculation changes. Your lawyer explains that even conviction on half the counts means decades in federal prison. The government offers a plea deal: plead guilty to 3 counts, reccomend 5-7 years.

What do you do? Fight all 20 counts and risk the possibility – however remote – of conviction on 15 of them? Or take the deal that guarantees you come home eventually?

The government isn’t charging both statutes because they expect consecutive sentences on every count. There charging both statutes to make trial irrational.

This is why mail fraud dosent exist in isolation. It exists as part of a prosecutorial toolkit designed to maximize pressure. Wire fraud alone creates exposure. Mail fraud alone creates exposure. Together, they create leverage that neither statute provides independently.

Todd Spodek has represented clients facing exactly this calculation. Multi-count indictments combining mail and wire fraud where the theoretical maximum exceeded human lifespan. The question isn’t whether your guilty of anything. The question is whether your willing to bet your life on a jury agreeing with you.

Keith Fisher Got 99 Months While Already Serving Time

Abstract discussion of penalties means nothing without real numbers. Heres what mail fraud sentences actualy look like in 2024-2025.

Keith Fisher Sr. – 64 years old, from Philadelphia – recieved 99 months in federal prison. Thats over 8 years. But heres the part that makes this case remarkable. Fisher committed the new mail fraud while ALREADY serving a federal sentence for his previous mail fraud conviction.

Let that sink in. He was in the federal system for mail fraud. He used his access to various companies he owned to scheme again. He got caught again. The court added 99 months on top of whatever time he had remaining. This wasnt his first offense – it was his second federal mail fraud conviction. The system showed no mercy.

Hunter Hudson Jr. – 25 years old, known as “Hunnid K” from Montgomery, Alabama – recieved 92 months in May 2025. His scheme involved postal workers in a multi-state check fraud conspiracy. The postal workers diverted mail containing checks, and Hudson cashed them through fraudulent accounts. Seven and a half years for a young man who had his entire life ahead of him. He’ll be over 30 when he’s eligible for release.

The postal worker angle is becoming increasingly common. Prosecutors are targeting schemes that corrupt postal employees – these cases combine mail fraud with public corruption elements, which drives sentences higher. The government views attacks on the mail system as attacks on infrastructure itself.

COVID and PPP fraud cases routinely include mail fraud counts. Every application mailed, every document submitted via carrier, every physical piece of paper creates an independant count. Sentences in the 24-60 month range are common for mid-level fraud. But when loss amounts climb into the millions, sentences can exceed 100 months easily.

Bernie Madoff – the most notorious mail fraud defendant in history – recieved 150 years for his $65 billion Ponzi scheme. Obviously thats an extreme outlier. But it demonstrates the ceiling on these charges when loss amounts and victim counts escalate.

The conviction rate for federal fraud cases hovers around 88%. At trial, it climbs to 93%. When prosecutors bring mail fraud charges, they win nearly every time.

The pattern is clear. Mail fraud sentences are substantial. Convictions are nearly automatic. And the combination with wire fraud multiplies exposure beyond what most defendants expect.

Base Level 7 Becomes Level 29: Sentencing Math Nobody Explains

The federal sentencing guidelines determine what happens after conviction. Understanding this math is essential to understanding mail fraud exposure.

Mail fraud starts at base offense level 7. If you have no criminal history, level 7 recommends 0-6 months – basicly probation. That sounds manageable.

But nobody stays at level 7. The enhancements stack fast.

Loss amount drives everything. If the “loss” exceeded $70,000, add 8 levels. Note that this is intended loss or gain – prosecutors can calculate loss amounts that bear no resemblence to what actualy happened. If loss exceeded $1.5 million, add 16 levels. That alone takes you from level 7 to level 23.

Then come additional enhancements. 10 or more victims? Add 2 levels. “Sophisticated means” – which basicly means using mail and wire together? Add 2 levels. Abuse of a position of trust? Add 2 more. Leadership role in a scheme with 5+ participants? Add 4 levels.

Heres how the math works in practice. Start at level 7. Loss of $1.5 million adds 16 = level 23. Sophisticated means adds 2 = level 25. Leadership role adds 4 = level 29.

At level 29 with no criminal history, the sentencing guidelines reccomend 97-121 months. Thats 8-10 years – from a base offense that started at zero months.

The sentencing guidelines arent binding on judges, but federal judges impose guideline-range sentences about 50% of the time. The other 50% can go either direction. But the guidelines create the framework for every sentencing argument.

Mail Fraud Unlocks RICO: The Predicate Offense That Started It All

Heres something most defendants dont discover until its to late. Mail fraud wasnt just the first federal fraud statute with broad reach – it was the ORIGINAL predicate offense.

Before wire fraud existed, mail fraud was how prosecutors built complex conspiracy cases. It was the foundation for what would eventually become RICO. And today, mail fraud remains a predicate offense for both RICO and money laundering charges.

RICO – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act – requires proof of a “pattern of racketeering activity.” What counts as racketeering activity? Mail fraud. Two or more mail fraud violations can establish the pattern that triggers RICO charges.

Money laundering works the same way. Using proceeds from “specified unlawful activity” – which includes mail fraud – to conduct financial transactions creates money laundering exposure on top of the underlying mail fraud.

This is why prosecutors charge mail fraud strategically. Its not just about the mail fraud penalty. Its about opening the door to RICO (which carries 20 years per count plus asset forfeiture) and money laundering (which carries 10-20 years depending on the variation).

The consequence cascade looks like this: mail invoice for services → client pays → deposit in bank → investigators trace payment → original invoice was mailed → mail fraud established → bank involvement = 30 years max, statute of limitations extends to 10 years → deposit proceeds = money laundering exposure → pattern of mailings = RICO exposure.

From business invoices to RICO. Thats the path prosecutors can construct using the 1872 statute.

The Kousisis Decision Changed Everything

In May 2025, the Supreme Court decided Kousisis v. United States. The ruling fundamentaly changed how mail and wire fraud get prosecuted – and not in the direction defendants hoped.

The question before the Court was wheather “fraudulent inducement” is enough for a fraud conviction. Can you be convicted of mail fraud for inducing someone to enter a transaction under false pretenses, even if you didnt intend to cause them economic loss?

The Supreme Court said yes. Unanimously.

This matters because defendants had argued that fraud requires intent to cause economic harm. If the victim got what they paid for – even if they were deceived about something – theres no fraud. The Court rejected this argument.

Under Kousisis, you can be convicted of mail fraud for deceiving someone about material facts, even if the transaction was economically fair. The deception itself is the crime. The victim dosent need to suffer net economic loss.

Think about what this means for business relationships. Overstating credentials. Exaggerating experience. Puffery about capabilities. Claiming you have 10 employees when you have 5. Saying you’ve been in business for 15 years when its actually been 12. If these statements induced someone to enter a transaction they otherwise wouldnt have entered – and you used the mail in connection with that transaction – Kousisis says thats prosecutable mail fraud.

The irony is crushing. Defendants had hoped the Supreme Court would narrow mail fraud – thats what happened in several earlier cases. Instead, the Court unanimously expanded it. The 153-year-old statute got stronger in 2025, not weaker.

Defense attorneys across the country are still working through the implications. Previously, you could argue: “the victim got what they paid for – where’s the harm?” After Kousisis, that argument fails. The harm is the deception that induced the transaction, regardless of wheather the transaction turned out to be economicly fair.

The 2025 decision expanded the reach of a 153-year-old statute in ways nobody fully anticipated.

When Spodek Law Group Takes Your Call

If your reading this because an investigator asked about your mail, because a former buisness partner mentioned grand jury subpoenas, because your lawyer told you to get independent counsel – the time for research is over. The time for action began yesterday.

Federal mail fraud investigations move methodicaly. By the time you know about them, prosecutors have already traced every package, every mailing, every document you sent. There not exploring wheather a crime occured. There building the case to prove it.

The decisions you make in the first 72 hours after learning your under investigation often determine wheather you face trial or negotiate from strength. People who panic and talk to agents create evidence against themselves. People who immediately invoke there rights and engage counsel preserve options.

Call 212-300-5196 for a confidential consultation. The call is protected by attorney-client privilege. Nothing you tell us can be used against you. That means you can be completley honest about what happened.

Mail fraud charges are survivable. The 88% conviction rate reflects cases that went all the way through the system – not cases dismissed, declined for prosecution, or resolved before charges. Many investigations never result in indictment. Many indictments get resolved through favorable plea agreements. Many sentences come in below guideline ranges. The universe of possible outcomes is larger then conviction statistics suggest. But accessing those outcomes requires sophisticated federal defense.

The defenses that work in mail fraud cases include: lack of intent to defraud (you genuinly beleived your statements were accurate), no scheme (the conduct was ordinary buisness even if aggressive), the mailings werent in furtherance (they were routine correspondence unrelated to any alleged deception), and statute of limitations (conduct occured more then 5 years ago, or 10 if no financial institution involved).

Spodek Law Group handles federal criminal matters across the country. We understand how mail fraud cases interlock with wire fraud, RICO, and money laundering exposure. We’ve seen the count multiplication strategy prosecutors use. We’ve helped clients resist that pressure and achieve outcomes that seemed impossible when they first called.

The statute Congress wrote in 1872 to stop lottery scammers now captures every FedEx package you send. Every invoice is jurisdiction. Every certified letter is exposure. Every UPS shipment is a potential count. Thats the reality of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 in 2025.

Understanding that reality is the first step toward surviving it. Acting on that understanding – quickly, decisivly, with experienced counsel – is what actualy protects your future.

Your mail is federal jurisdiction. The question is wheather you’ll be ready when prosecutors open your shipping history.