Conspiracy against the United States, or conspiracy to defraud the United States,§ 923
18 U.S.C. § 371—Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

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United States Attorneys' Manual The ''Justice Manual'' (known before 2018 as the ''United States Attorneys' Manual'') is a looseleaf text designed as a quick and ready reference for United States Attorneys and other employees of the United States Department of Justice responsibl ...

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federal offense In the United States, a federal crime or federal offense is an act that is made illegal by U.S. federal legislation enacted by both the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives and signed into law by the president. Prosec ...

in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

under . The crime is that of two or more persons who conspire to commit an offense against the United States, or to

defraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

the United States.

Statute

provides that:

History and interpretation

In the 1924 case '' Hammerschmidt v. United States'', the Supreme Court of the United States, in an opinion authored by Chief Justice

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

, held that "To conspire to defraud the United States means primarily to cheat the government out of property or money, but it also means to interfere with or obstruct one of its lawful governmental functions by deceit, craft or trickery, or at least by means that are dishonest."
Hammerschmidt v. United States
', 265 U.S. 182 (1924). The

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'', summarizing case law on the statute, states that "In summary, those activities which courts have held defraud the United States under 18 U.S.C. § 371 affect the government in at least one of three ways: (1) They cheat the government out of money or property; (2) They interfere or obstruct legitimate Government activity; or (3) They make wrongful use of a governmental instrumentality." The " intent required for a conspiracy to defraud the government is that the defendant possessed the intent (a) to defraud, (b) to make false statements or representations to the government or its agencies in order to obtain property of the government, or that the defendant performed acts or made statements that he/she knew to be false, fraudulent or deceitful to a government agency, which disrupted the functions of the agency or of the government." The federal courts have held that an "actual loss to the government of any property or funds" is not an element of the offense; to secure a conviction, the government must prove "only that the defendant's activities impeded or interfered with legitimate governmental functions." For example, a businessman who used a

front company A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy ...

to gain federal subcontracts for bridge construction meant for disadvantaged businesses was convicted under this section. The statute has been used in a wide variety of contexts; it is "a common federal charge, mainly because it can target a wide range of conduct and can be tacked on to other charges."Charges May Pressure Ex-Trump Manager to Cooperate-Lawyers
Reuters (October 30, 2017). Charges of conspiracy against the United States have been brought against al-Qaeda terrorist attack plotters as well as against various

Volkswagen AG Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

executives who were charged under the statute in connection with the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal. Notable persons who have been convicted of conspiracy against the United States include former

Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional compani ...

chief executive officer

Jeff Skilling Jeffrey Keith Skilling (born November 25, 1953) is an American businessman who is best known as the CEO of Enron Corporation during the Enron scandal. In 2006, he was convicted of federal felony charges relating to Enron's collapse and eventuall ...

.What is 'conspiracy against the United States'?
BBC News (October 30, 2017) In 2018,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and Manafort's associate Rick Gates, were indicted and pleaded guilty to this crime, following an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Gates also pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements, and Manafort also pleaded guilty to one count of

witness tampering Witness tampering is the act of attempting to improperly influence, alter or prevent the testimony of witnesses within criminal or civil proceedings. Witness tampering and reprisals against witnesses in organized crime cases have been a difficul ...

Statute

History and interpretation

References

Further reading

See also