In the 2022-2023 term, the Supreme Court will address the definition of "property" under the federal wire fraud statute, which prohibits a person from "obtaining money or property by means of false pretenses." 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The definition of "property" for the purposes of this statute has been much debated—need "property" be economic in nature? Must it be tangible? Can one's admission to a university constitute "property"? Now, the Supreme Court may answer some of these questions in Ciminelli v. United States (Docket No. 21-1170).1
Mr. Ciminelli was convicted of wire fraud in connection with a bid-rigging scheme in the "Buffalo Billion" program, an economic development initiative in Buffalo, New York. The program was facilitated by Fort Schuyler, a nonprofit entity affiliated with the SUNY system, which issued requests for proposals ("RFPs") to solicit and accept bids for each project. The government argued that Mr. Ciminelli and others rigged this process by secretly tailoring certain RFPs to favor their companies on projects worth $750 million.