United States v. Oscar Chason

ANDERSON, Circuit Judge:

Oscar Chason, a Manhattan furrier, was charged with playing a key role in a scheme to defraud two major credit card companies, Diners Club and American Express, and was convicted on ten counts of mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1341. The scheme itself was rather simple. Certain persons would purchase airline tickets with lost or stolen credit cards and then pass these tickets on to Chason who either used them himself or resold them for 50 to 60 per cent of their actual value.

The appellant’s first claim on appeal is that, even if he was guilty of fraud, neither the indictment…