What is 18 USC 1341?

| by Max Soni

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 40 years of combined experience handling federal criminal defense cases that other lawyers won’t touch. You’ve probably heard about some of our work – Todd represented Anna Delvey in the case that became a Netflix series, we handled the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct matter, and we’ve defended clients in cases ranging from multi-million dollar fraud schemes to federal stalking charges. If you’re reading about 18 USC 1341, someone probably accused you of mail fraud, which means you need to understand what federal prosecutors can do to you.

18 USC 1341 is the federal mail fraud statute. It makes it a crime to use the mail – that’s the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, any carrier – to carry out a fraudulent scheme. Federal prosecutors love this statute because it’s incredibly broad and they can charge you with multiple counts for the same underlying fraud. Each piece of mail is a separate offense.

What Prosecutors Have to Prove

Mail fraud has two elements, and according to DOJ prosecution guidelines, both must exist for a conviction. You devised or intended to devise a scheme to defraud someone. You used the mail to execute that scheme or try to execute it.

That first element – the scheme to defraud – is where most defense work happens. Federal courts define fraud broadly. You made material misstatements, you omitted material facts you should have disclosed, you intended to deceive someone for personal gain. The government doesn’t need to prove you succeeded. They don’t need to prove anyone lost money. Intent is enough.

One case we handled involved a client accused of submitting false documents to investors – the prosecution argued every mailed statement, every FedEx package with updated projections, every UPS delivery of contracts was a separate count of mail fraud. Fifteen mailings meant fifteen felony counts, each carrying 20 years. That’s how these cases multiply.

The Mail Element Is Easier Than You Think for Prosecutors

The second element sounds simple but it’s a trap. Prosecutors don’t need to prove the mailing was essential to your scheme. It can be incidental. You don’t even need to be the one who dropped the envelope in the mailbox – if you caused something to be mailed as part of the scheme, that’s enough.

Let’s say you’re running a fraudulent investment operation. You email false financial statements to investors. One investor prints your email and mails it to their accountant. You didn’t mail anything, but under 18 USC 1341, prosecutors can charge you because the mailing was a foreseeable consequence of your fraud. Courts consistently uphold this interpretation.

In 2025, we’re seeing prosecutors charge mail fraud in pandemic relief cases where defendants mailed falsified documents to claim unemployment benefits. Six defendants were sentenced in February 2025 in federal court for exactly this – conspiracy to commit mail fraud through fraudulent pandemic unemployment applications. The government tracked every mailed document, every check sent to a fake address, every piece of correspondence. Each one became a separate count.

Penalties That Destroy Lives

Standard mail fraud carries up to 20 years in federal prison per count. The statute was amended in 2002 to increase the maximum from 5 years to 20 years – Congress wanted harsher penalties for fraud offenses. That 20-year maximum applies to each separate mailing.

If your mail fraud scheme involved a presidentially declared disaster or affected a financial institution, penalties jump to 30 years per count plus fines up to $1,000,000. We saw this after Hurricane Sandy, after the 2008 financial crisis, during COVID-19. Federal prosecutors used the enhanced penalty provision aggressively. Someone submits a false insurance claim after a hurricane and mails supporting documents? Thirty years exposure. Someone defrauds a bank and correspondence goes through the mail? Thirty years per count.

In May 2025, Hunter Hudson Jr. was sentenced to 92 months – over seven years – for wire, bank, and mail fraud charges connected to a check fraud scheme. Eight defendants total were convicted. That’s real time in federal prison, not state prison where you might get parole after a fraction of your sentence. Federal defendants serve at least 85% of their sentence.

Keith Fisher Sr. got 99 months in 2025 for mail fraud involving government contracts – and he committed that fraud while already serving a federal sentence for a previous fraud conviction. Judges don’t show mercy when you’re a repeat offender. They stack sentences, they deny reductions, they impose the maximum allowed under the guidelines.

Why This Statute Is Particularly Dangerous

Mail fraud is a predicate offense for RICO charges, money laundering charges, conspiracy charges. Once prosecutors establish mail fraud, they can build an entire criminal enterprise case around it. At Spodek Law Group, we’ve defended clients where a relatively simple fraud allegation exploded into a 20-count indictment because prosecutors added every possible charge that touched the mail fraud.

The statute of limitations is five years for standard mail fraud, ten years if it affects a financial institution. That means federal prosecutors can investigate you for years before bringing charges. They subpoena your bank records, your business correspondence, your tax returns. They interview your business partners, your employees, your clients. They build the case slowly while you have no idea you’re under investigation.

Courts interpret “scheme to defraud” so broadly that nearly any dishonest business practice can qualify. In the 2024-2025 Supreme Court term, the Court decided Kousisis v. United States, upholding mail and wire fraud convictions where defendants falsely represented using a disadvantaged business supplier. The Court ruled that economic loss isn’t required to sustain federal fraud convictions – the deception itself is enough. That decision made mail fraud prosecutions even easier for the government.

What You Should Do Right Now

If you’re under investigation for mail fraud, or if federal agents contacted you, or if you received a target letter, don’t talk to investigators without a lawyer. Federal agents are not your friends – they’re building a case against you, and everything you say will be used to add counts to your indictment.

At Spodek Law Group – we’ve handled these cases for decades. We know how federal prosecutors build mail fraud cases, we know the defenses that work, and we know when to fight and when to negotiate. Our team includes former federal prosecutors who understand exactly how the government thinks. We’ve defended clients in multi-million dollar fraud cases and gotten results that other lawyers said were impossible.

Mail fraud charges don’t go away if you ignore them. The government has years to investigate, unlimited resources, and federal agents who do nothing but build these cases. You need a defense team that understands federal criminal procedure, federal sentencing guidelines, and how to challenge the government’s evidence before you’re indicted.

Call us immediately if you’re facing 18 USC 1341 charges or if you think you might be under investigation. We’re available 24/7, and our first consultation will help you understand what you’re facing and what your options are. Federal mail fraud cases move fast once charges are filed – you need representation now, not after the indictment comes down.