United States v. Bowman
United States Supreme Court
260 U.S. 94 (1922)
Relevant factsFree
American crewmen, including Bowman (defendant), conspired to defraud a corporation wholly owned by the U.S. government by invoicing for 1,000 tons of fuel oil while delivering only 600 tons and pocketing the difference during a voyage to Rio de Janeiro; the trial court found it lacked jurisdiction because the applicable fraud statute did not specifically extend to crimes committed at sea or abroad, and the government appealed.
IssueFree
Whether federal courts have jurisdiction to try crimes committed at sea or in a foreign country against the United States government, when the relevant criminal statute does not expressly extend to such extraterritorial locations.