Liberal Forum

Mail fraud is a federal crime. The two main elements of mail fraud are: the defendant (1) had a scheme or plan to defraud someone and (2) used the "mail system" (or planned to) as a way to carry out the scheme. The mail system includes the U.S. postal service, as well as commercial interstate delivery services like UPS and FedEx.

In a mail fraud prosecution, the government need not prove that the scheme actually injured victims, or was even carried out completely. It's not even necessary that the victim of the scheme had knowledge of its existence. The scheme and intent to defraud are enough.

It's not necessary that mailing be an essential part of the scheme (it can be an incidental piece of it). The government needn't prove that the defendant actually deposited anything in the mail or with the delivery service; it's enough to prove that mailing or depositing the item at a collection point was an eventual part of the plan. The prosecutor can even prove "mailing" by pointing to an office's regular mailing procedures.

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Two common defenses to mail fraud are the statute of limitations and good faith defense.Statute of limitations.
Statutes of limitations impose time limits on prosecutors to file criminal charges. Most mail fraud charges must be brought within five years of the offense. If the offense affects a financial institution, federal prosecutors have 10 years to bring the case.
Good faith defense. A defendant might also argue that he or she believed in good faith that the allegedly false representations were true when made. This defense challenges the element of fraudulent intent.

 https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/c ... -fraud.htm