United States v. Yermian

468 U.S. 63 (1984)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Yermian (D) was hired by Gulton Industries, a defense contractor. D was required to obtain a Department of Defense Security Clearance. D filed in a worksheet for that purpose. On that sheet, D failed to disclose that he had been convicted of mail fraud in 1978, that he had been employed by two companies that had never employed him, and then certified the answers as true complete and correct to the best of his knowledge and that he understood that any false statements made would subject him to prosecution under 1001. D was eventually discovered and charged with three violations of 1001. D's sole defense was that he had no actual knowledge that his false statements would be transmitted to a federal agency. D requested a jury instruction that conviction required that he knew the statements were false and that they would be submitted to a government agency. That instruction was overruled, and D was convicted. The instruction given was that the Government must prove that D knew or should have known that the information was to be submitted to a government agency. The Court of Appeals reversed.