General Discussion

It is “very odd” to charge a corporate entity with these crimes, said Andrew Tessman, a former federal prosecutor who handled financial fraud cases.

“To prove wire fraud, you have to show that the defendant had intent to defraud. That’s hard to do even when you’re talking about an individual person. To establish that an entire corporate entity had intent to defraud seems exceptionally difficult,” he said. “Same goes for bank fraud. Difficult crime to prove because you have to prove what is going on inside someone’s head at the moment they are conducting the financial transactions. Easier to do with an individual because you can get the context from other witnesses and sometimes emails or texts.”

“I don’t think they can prove their case at trial,” he added.