Supreme Court Rulings Make US White-Collar Fraud Charges Harder

The US Supreme Court has long been divided on everything from abortion to immigration. But there’s one issue on which the justices have been in broad agreement: They think federal prosecutors have overreached with certain kinds of white-collar fraud cases. Recent rulings by the court and a lower appellate panel may make it more difficult to bring charges related to suspected financial schemes including bank fraud, money laundering and insider trading. Some defense attorneys see the decisions as a way out for their clients.

In May the Supreme Court narrowed the use of federal fraud statutes in two rulings involving ...