Home › Fraud › Conspiracy to defraud
The whole idea in one picture
Most fraud is about what you did. Conspiracy is about what you agreed to do — with someone else. It bites even if the scheme never gets off the ground.
It's mostly a white-collar offence — the kind that lives in emails, spreadsheets and meetings rather than back alleys. Common examples:
Because the offence is the agreement, the evidence is often a record of people talking and planning:
Conspiracy to defraud is a serious (indictable) offence, usually heard in a higher court:
Remember: a conviction does not need the fraud to have been completed — the agreement and the dishonest intention are enough.
Penalties where you are
Or the same maximum as the fraud that was planned, whichever applies.
Because the case is built on an agreement and intent, defences often go straight to whether either really existed:
No real plan or shared understanding existed.
Your actions weren't dishonest or deceptive.
You left the agreement before anything was acted on.
You were mistakenly connected to the conspiracy.
That no money was gained or lost can help at sentencing, but on its own it isn't a complete defence.
Whether your conduct even meets the threshold for "conspiracy" is often arguable — and early advice can mean charge withdrawal or a plea. We can point you to lawyers in your state.
Read this first
This page explains how these charges generally work — it can't tell you what will happen in your case. Penalties shown are the legal maximums, aimed at the most serious cases. If you're under investigation or charged, talk to a criminal lawyer before answering questions.
