Can the U.S. Prosecute Americans for Using Interstate Wires to Defraud the Canadian Government?
Pasquantino v. United States Docket No. 03-725 From: The Fourth Circuit Case at a Glance This is an appeal by three defendants who were convicted of violating the wire fraud statute by using interstate telephone wires to arrange for the purchase of alcohol in the United States and the transport of it to Canada. This alleged fraud operated to deprive the Canadian government of taxes due it under Canadian law. Defendants argue the common-law revenue rule and other laws prohibit their prosecution for wire fraud, because a court in the United States cannot enforce foreign tax laws. • Previewed by Davalene Cooper, a professor of law at New England School of Law in Boston, Mass.
