United States v. Czubinski
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
106 F.3d 1069 (1997)
Richard Czubinski (defendant) was an IRS employee authorized to use the IRS's taxpayer database only for official duties, but in 1992 he repeatedly browsed the tax records of acquaintances and other people who interested him, unrelated to any assigned task. He was charged with wire and computer fraud. A fellow Ku Klux Klan member testified that Czubinski once said he would use such records to build a dossier on KKK-associated individuals, but the government offered no evidence he ever created a dossier, took any step toward one, or disclosed anyone's information. Czubinski was convicted on all counts.
Whether a conviction for mail, wire, or computer fraud requires evidence of the defendant's intent to further a fraudulent scheme.