US Edition
Supreme Court upholds fraud conviction of government contractor
- The Supreme Court upheld the fraud conviction of government contractor Stamatios Kousisis and Alpha Painting on Thursday in the Philadelphia area.
- The case stemmed from accusations that Kousisis and Alpha secured two significant construction contracts by deceitfully committing to involve a certified disadvantaged business in the projects.
- The scheme aimed to secure contracts worth millions from PennDOT by submitting false statements regarding the procurement of paint supplies through Markias as an intermediary.
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected the defendants' claim that economic loss is necessary for wire fraud conviction, affirming that the fraudulent-inducement theory aligns with the statute’s language and related judicial rulings.
- The court’s ruling confirms that federal wire fraud statutes can be enforced when deceit is employed to secure contracts, even if the victim does not suffer direct financial loss, representing an uncommon win for prosecutors.
3 Articles
3 Articles
Justices Uphold Fraud Conviction of Contractor
“The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of a government contractor found guilty of defrauding a state transportation program designed to promote diversity,” the Washington Post reports. “The unanimous decision reversed a trend in which the justices have pushed back on how prosecutors pursue white-collar fraud.”
Court upholds federal fraud conviction even without economic harm
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the fraud conviction of a Philadelphia-area government contractor. Stamatios Kousisis was found guilty, along with Alpha Painting and Construction, after they failed to comply with a contract provision intended to promote diversity. Prosecutors insisted that federal wire fraud laws apply equally to cases in which the defendant uses deception to enter into a transaction that doesn’t harm the victim financially…
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