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US-CA5 · jury_instructions

5th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) 2.58A

BANK FRAUD

activein force · 2026-08-19 – presentas-observed

18 U.S.C. § 1344(1) [18 U.S.C. § 1346]

Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344(1) makes it a crime for anyone to knowingly

execute a scheme or artifice to defraud a financial institution.

For you to find the defendant guilty of this crime, you must be convinced that the

government has proved each of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

First: That the defendant knowingly executed a scheme or artifice;

Second: That the scheme or artifice was to defraud a financial institution, as alleged in the

indictment;

Third: That the defendant had the intent to defraud the financial institution;

Fourth: That the scheme or artifice to defraud was material [employed a false material

representation] [concealed a material fact]; and

Fifth: That the defendant placed the financial institution at risk of civil liability or financial

loss.

A “scheme or artifice” means any plan, pattern, or course of action intended to deceive

others in order to obtain something of value, such as money, from the institution to be deceived.

[Such a scheme or artifice can involve a scheme to deprive a financial institution of the intangible

right to honest services through soliciting or accepting bribes or kickbacks.]

[Define “bribery” pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 201(b) or 665(a)(2) or state law; define

“kickback” pursuant to 41 U.S.C. § 52(2) or state law].]

It is not necessary that the government prove all of the details alleged in the indictment

concerning the precise nature of the alleged scheme or artifice, or that the alleged scheme or artifice

actually succeeded. What must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt is that the accused knowingly

executed a scheme that was substantially similar to the scheme alleged in the indictment.

[A representation is “false” if it is known to be untrue or is made with reckless indifference

as to its truth or falsity. A representation is also “false” when it constitutes a half truth, or

effectively omits or conceals a material fact, provided it is made with intent to defraud.]

A scheme [representation] [concealment] is “material” if it has a natural tendency to

influence or is capable of influencing, the institution to which it is addressed.

To act with “intent to defraud” means to do something with the specific intent to deceive

or cheat someone, ordinarily for personal financial gain or to cause financial loss to someone else.

287

However, ‘a scheme to defraud ’ demands neither a showing of ultimate financial loss nor a

showing of intent to cause financial loss.

“Financial institution” means _________ ( insert appropriate definition from 18 U.S.C. §

20).

To prove that “the defendant placed the financial institution at risk of civil liability or

financial loss,” it is not necessary for the government to demonstrate that the financial institution

actually suffered civil liability or financial loss, or that it faced a substantial likelihood of risk of

loss.

Provenance

Source
lb5.uscourts.gov
Retrieved
2026-08-19
Edition
2026-08-19
Content hash
8e5725854976e642c12bbe9e64124224543f1d110c1540002165222d270daaf6
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