The Uncertainties Surrounding Honest Services Mail Fraud: Will the Supreme Court Provide a Fix or Declare It Unconstitutional in US v. Black?

Tom Gorman of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP moderates this important program by Frank Razzano of Pepper Hamilton LLP, Ray Banoun of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, and Alice S. Fisher, Esq., Latham & Watkins LLP, who discuss honest services fraud in the private sector.  

Honest services fraud is an ill-defined term which has deeply split the circuits. Does it require a breach of fiduciary duty? If so, is the source of the breach of duty state or federal law? Must the defendant foresee actual harm or intend to cause actual harm? Must the defendant intend to achieve a private gain? Can materiality substitute for foreseeable harm, intent to cause harm or intent to achieve private gain? Some have suggested that it is so vague as to be unconstitutional. Join our presenters as they explore all these concepts and try to predict where the Supreme Court will end up in its decision in U.S v. Black.

Frank C. Razzano, Esq. is a partner in the Washington office of Pepper Hamilton LLP, focusing his practice on civil, commercial and criminal litigation, with an emphasis on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission enforcement. Previously an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and an Assistant Chief Trial Attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, he is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Maryland Law School. Mr. Razzano is also a frequent news commentator and writer on SEC enforcement and white collar issues and currently serves as the civil law editor for RICO Law Reporter.

Raymond Banoun, Esq. is the managing partner of the Washington office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP and oversees his firm’s Business Fraud practice. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he represents corporations, financial institutions, investment firms, law firms, and individuals in criminal investigations and litigation. Mr. Banoun, who previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he headed the Fraud Division, also served as Chairman of the ABA Criminal Justice Section's White Collar Crime Committee. He has written extensively for various legal publications and has spoken and organized various conferences on the enforcement of anti-fraud statues and banking and environmental laws.

Alice S. Fisher, Esq. is a Global Co-Chair of the White Collar and Government Investigations Practice Group of Latham & Watkins LLP and a partner in its Washington, D.C. office. She specializes in white collar criminal and internal investigations, including accounting and securities fraud, health care fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters, congressional investigations and complex civil litigation. From 2005-2008, Ms. Fisher served as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). She also chaired the National Procurement Fraud Task Force, supervised the Medicare Fraud Strike Force and served as a member of the President's Corporate Fraud Task Force. Prior to 2005, Ms. Fisher was a litigation partner at Latham & Watkins.

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