Analyze the elements of a crime
Order Instructions
Select a recent (within the last 5 years) criminal court case on white-collar crime. White collar crime cases are financially motivated crimes that are committed by businesses and government professionals. Examples include money laundering, fraud, and embezzlement. Create a presentation to determine whether the three elements necessary to prove a crime was present. In your discussion, please include the following:
Identify the crime.
Summarize the facts.
Identify the elements of the crime.
Discuss the evidence and indicate whether it was sufficient to prove the elements. If it was insufficient, identify the missing evidence.
Length: 8-10 slides
References: Include two to three legal resources.
Your assignment should demonstrate an understanding of legal research and writing. You should use critical thinking, practical application and analytical reasoning in completing the assignment. In addition, the assignment should display a good understanding of the substantive content, and demonstrate your ability to communicate information clearly, effectively, and in an appropriate tone. BLUEBOOK standards for legal formatting and citation should be adhered to in this assignment.
Must be done In BLUEBOOK standard format!!
SAMPLE ANSWER
Identify the crime:
The crime in this case is securities fraud.
Summarize the facts:
The case is United States v. Elizabeth Holmes, et al. Elizabeth Holmes was the founder and CEO of Theranos, a healthcare technology company that claimed to have developed a revolutionary blood testing device. She and her former partner and COO, Sunny Balwani, were indicted on multiple counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2018. The indictment alleged that they had made false and misleading statements to investors about the capabilities of the device and its technology, and that they had misled healthcare professionals and patients about the accuracy and reliability of the company’s blood tests.
Identify the elements of the crime:
The elements of securities fraud are:
A material misrepresentation or omission of fact
Made with scienter (intent to deceive or reckless disregard for the truth)
In connection with the purchase or sale of a security
That results in harm to the victim
Discuss the evidence and indicate whether it was sufficient to prove the elements. If it was insufficient, identify the missing evidence:
The evidence in this case included emails, text messages, and other documents that showed Holmes and Balwani making false and misleading statements to investors and others about the company’s technology and financial performance. There were also witnesses who testified that they had been deceived by the company’s claims.
The prosecution argued that the evidence was sufficient to prove all the elements of securities fraud. They pointed to emails and other communications that showed Holmes and Balwani knew that the company’s technology was not as effective as they claimed, but continued to make false statements to investors and others in order to attract funding and support for the company.
However, the defense argued that the evidence was insufficient to prove the scienter element of the crime. They claimed that Holmes and Balwani genuinely believed in the company’s technology and were not intentionally deceiving anyone. They also argued that the investors who lost money did so because they took a risk on an unproven technology, not because of any intentional deception by the defendants.
In conclusion, while there was strong evidence to support the material misrepresentation and connection to the sale of a security elements, the case was not as clear on the scienter element. Ultimately, the jury found Elizabeth Holmes guilty on four counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, indicating that they believed the prosecution had met the burden of proof for all elements of the crime.
References:
United States v. Holmes, No. 18-cr-00258-EMC (N.D. Cal. filed June 15, 2018).
Securities and Exchange Commission, “SEC Charges Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes With Massive Fraud” (Mar. 14, 2018), https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-41.
Christopher Zinsli, “Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos and the Myth of the Silicon Valley Hero” (Feb. 6, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/06/books/review/john-carreyrou-bad-blood-elizabeth-holmes-theranos.html.
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