Conspiracy law has changed in recent years as a result of the perpetration of conspiracies that have cost investors and businesses an unprecedented amount of money. One of the most notable of these cases was that of Bernard L. Madoff, who on December 11, 2008 "confessed that his vaunted investment business was all 'one big lie,' a Ponzi scheme colossal in volume and scope that cost investors $65 billion" ("Introduction"). The so-called "Madoff Affair" was "a deception that lasted longer, reached wider and cut deeper than any other business scandal in history," and it left its mark on American conspiracy law ("Introduction"). According to 18 U.S.C. 371, conspiring or agreeing with someone to do anything that-if carried out-"would amount to another Federal crime or offense" constitutes conspiracy, and as such it is obviously a serious crime ("The 'Lectric Law Library's Legal Lexicon On Conspiracy"). The 9/11 attacks, for example, were the result of high-level conspiracy, and assassinations, the Enron debacle, and other heinous crimes have been also. Thus, conspiracy stands somewhat apart from lesser crimes such as consumer fraud.
Insurance fraud is another American crime industry, this one costing Americans at least $80 billion per year, or approximately $950 per family; the government loses $179 billion per year to Medicare fraud costs ("Insurance Fraud"). Payments fraud occurs when criminals obtain enough of a consumer's personal information to initiate a payment on their own behalf (Sullivan 35). Identity theft and medical identity theft are insidious forms of fraud in which the criminal "steals" the consumer's identity and uses it to obtain credit, make purchases, and obtain medical treatment under the consumer's name. The consumer fraud associated with dangerous medications and dangerous foods is rapidly becoming a scandal, and online pharmacies are being regulated more closely as a result.
Legisl...