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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that people who cheat foreign governments of tax revenue can be prosecuted under U.S. law for wire fraud.
In a 5-4 decision, the court upheld the fraud convictions for three men accused of sneaking thousands of cases of whisky, vodka and rum into Canada from the United States and avoiding millions of dollars in Canadian taxes. Canada did not pursue the trio for tax evasion, but American prosecutors did and the three were sentenced to prison.
The U.S. wire fraud law bars the use of interstate wires, such as phones and computers, to carry out "any scheme" to defraud. Justices ruled U.S. prosecutors can use the law to pursue charges when a scheme involves defrauding foreign governments, which are barred from using American courts to collect lost revenues.
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