United States v. Computer Sciences Corp.

Summary

The Fourth Circuit reviewed the dismissal of a 57-count indictment against Computer Sciences Corporation and related defendants involving RICO, mail fraud, wire fraud, and false claims offenses arising from alleged overbilling of the federal government. The court held that brief, inadvertent violations of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(d) did not warrant dismissal absent prejudice, and that the mail and wire fraud statutes were not preempted by the false claims statute. It reinstated most counts, while affirming dismissal with prejudice of Count 3 and the RICO counts against CSC, and leaving Count 38 dismissed.

Holdings

1. A technical violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(d) does not require dismissal of an indictment absent demonstrable prejudice or a substantial threat of prejudice. The brief, inadvertent, and nonprejudicial intrusions in this case did not invalidate the indictment.
2. Section 287 does not make prosecution under the mail fraud and wire fraud statutes exclusive when the alleged conduct also satisfies those statutes. The government may prosecute under both statutory schemes, leaving any question concerning multiple punishment for a later stage if convictions occur.
3. Dismissal with prejudice was unwarranted where the government had not determined that Derrick was a target when he testified before the grand jury and the challenged document-production activities were undertaken for CSC's corporate purposes.
4. An unincorporated corporate division may qualify as a RICO enterprise because an enterprise may be a group of individuals associated in fact and need not be a separate legal entity.
5. For purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 1962, the enterprise must be distinct from, and not merely the same as or a part of, the person whose conduct the statute prohibits. A corporation cannot be charged with conducting its affairs through an enterprise consisting only of its own unincorporated division.

Questions Presented

1. Whether brief, inadvertent, and nonprejudicial violations of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(d) required dismissal of the indictment.
2. Whether 18 U.S.C. § 287 precluded prosecution under the mail fraud and wire fraud statutes for the same conduct involving fraud against the government.
3. Whether the alleged prosecutorial conduct concerning Derrick warranted dismissal of the charges against him with prejudice.
4. Whether Infonet, an unincorporated division of CSC, could qualify as a RICO enterprise.
5. Whether RICO required the enterprise to be distinct from the person charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1962.
6. Whether the alleged lack of benefit or advancement to the Infonet enterprise required dismissal of the RICO counts.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded