Supreme Court Narrows Scope of "Honest Services" Prosecution

The U.S. Supreme Court recently vacated the conspiracy conviction (premised on an improper theory of "honest services" wire fraud) of former Enron chief executive officer Jeffrey Skilling. In vacating the conviction, the Court essentially narrowed the scope of the U.S. wire fraud statute. As a result, prosecutors will likely be deterred from bringing mail and wire fraud charges against corporate executives whose alleged acts of disloyalty do not involve the receipt of bribes or kickbacks. Read this alert from Proskauer Rose to learn more about the decision and its ramifications.

MAW