Whether the statutory phrase 'obtain property' has the same meaning in the federal fraud statutes as it does in other federal criminal statutes

QUESTION PRESENTED The federal fraud statutes define the offense of fraud as a scheme to “obtain[] money or property” by deceptive means. 18 U.S.C. § 1343; see also 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1348. Interpreting other federal criminal statutes, this Court has held that the statutory phrase “obtain property” is a common-law term of art with a well-recognized meaning. Consistent with its ordinary meaning and its common-law definition, this Court has held that “obtaining property” means acquiring some property that the victim gives up. Honeycutt v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 1626, 1632 (2017); Sekhar v. United States, 570 U.S. 729, 732-34 (2013). Some circuits have held, however, that the same phrase has a different meaning in the federal fraud statutes. They have ruled that this Court’s prior definition of the phrase “obtain property” is inapplicable to the fraud statutes. They have held that any conduct that “affects a victim’s property rights” constitutes fraud, regardless of whether the defendant sought to obtain property. The question presented is whether obtaining property has the same meaning in the fraud statutes as it does in other provisions in the federal criminal code.