No. 25-6492

Arthur Fayne v. United States

Lower Court: Sixth Circuit
Docketed: 2026-01-06
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: criminal-law intent misrepresentation property-obtainment sixth-circuit wire-fraud
Latest Conference: 2026-02-20
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. KNOWING AND INTENTIONAL MISREPRESENTATION (Kousisis).
Whether the Sixth Circuit 's affirmance of wire-fraud convictions under 18 U.S.C.
§ 1343 conflicts with this Court 's requirement that the government prove a
knowing and intentional misrepresentation at the time property is obtained,
where the alleged "fraud " rested on the timing and sequencing of payments
later directed by the architect and owner under a financing structure that vested
the developer with discretion over drawdowns and disbursements; and where the
record shows the project was completed, the contractors were paid, and
Petitioner 's net contributions exceeded withdrawals. See United States v.
Kousisis, 145 S.Ct.1382 (2025); Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1,20-25 (1999)

2. REVIVAL OF RIGHT-TO-CONTROL (Ciminelli). Whether the Sixth Circuit
effectively revived the discredited "right-to-control " theory by upholding
convictions based on alleged breaches of "trust, " "expectations, " and "fiduciary
duty, " rather than a false statement obtaining money or property, in direct
conflict with Ciminelli v. United States, 598 U.S. 306,312-15 (2023), and
McNally v. United States, 483 U.S. 350,356-60 (1987).

3. MVRA RESTITUTION WITHOUT LOSS (Lagos). Whether the court of
appeals expanded the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3663A,
contrary to Lagos v. United States, 584 U.S. 577 (2018), by affirming restitution
exceeding $840,000 to public entities and a vendor that suffered no direct,
proximate, or actual pecuniary loss, where the City/County grants were
reimbursable (pre-approved line-items only), contractors were paid, and an
owner 's certification attested project funds were properly used.

4. NATIONAL IMPORTANCE. Whether certiorari is warranted to prevent the
federalization of ordinary project-management and payment-timing
judgments in public-private developments —conduct expressly governed by
contract —thereby chilling redevelopment projects nationwide and undermining
this Court 's recent efforts to curb federal fraud law. See Ciminelli, 598 U.S. at
312-15; Kousisis, 145 S.Ct. 1382 (2025).

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the Sixth Circuit's affirmance of wire-fraud convictions conflicts with the Court's requirement of proving knowing and intentional misrepresentation at the time of property obtainment

Docket Entries

2026-03-09
Application (25A980) granted by Justice Kavanaugh extending the time to file until April 15, 2026.
2026-03-02
Application (25A980) for an extension of time within which to comply with the order of February 23, 2026, submitted to Justice Kavanaugh.
2026-02-23
The motion of petitioner for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is denied. Petitioner is allowed until March 16, 2026, within which to pay the docketing fee required by Rule 38(a) and to submit a petition in compliance with Rule 33.1 of the Rules of this Court.
2026-01-22
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
2026-01-15
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2025-08-19
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due February 5, 2026)

Attorneys

Arthur Fayne
Arthur Fayne — Petitioner
United States
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent