Supreme Court of the United States

Parr v. United States

June 13, 1960363 U.S. 370

Summary

The Supreme Court reversed the convictions of nine individuals and two banks for mail fraud and conspiracy, holding that the legally compelled mailings of tax notices and related documents were not "for the purpose of executing" a fraudulent scheme under 18 U.S.C. § 1341, nor were the oil‑invoice mailings covered by the statute. The Court also vacated the conspiracy conviction because the underlying substantive offense could not stand. Justice Frankfurter, dissenting, argued that the mailings were integral to the scheme.

Holding

  • Whether the legally compelled mailings of tax-related documents (counts 1‑16) were "for the purpose of executing" a fraudulent scheme under § 1341.. No; such mailings, although part of the overall fraud, were not criminal because they were compelled by state law and not a step in the execution of the scheme.
  • Whether the oil‑invoice mailings (counts 17‑19) were "for the purpose of executing" a fraudulent scheme under § 1341.. No; following Kann, the scheme was consummated when the gasoline was received, so the subsequent mailing of invoices was not part of the execution of the scheme.

Docket 391

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