This two-credit seminar provides an  introduction to the law of fraud and corruption. Topics likely to be covered include mail, wire and "honest services" fraud; money laundering; tax evasion; public corruption and bribery; obstruction of justice; securities fraud (with a brief detour to discuss civil remedies available to shareholders of public companies); and both personal and economic cybercrime. We will explore both federal and California law, and will spend a little time exploring criminal wrongdoing that extends across national borders.

In a sense, this is an advanced statutory interpretation class. As we analyze each case, we will both examine the law applied and discuss whether such application was appropriate. Throughout the course we will wrestle with the broad question of when the alleged wrongful conduct rises to the level of a crime or should be subject to civil penalties only.