Office Express sells stationery and other office supplies over the telephone. Office Express's sales representatives solicit mail orders and phone purchases through scripted sales pitches that frequently contain blatant misrepresentations.
Office Express advises its employees to use this tactic to "get by" secretaries who answer the phone and to "get the purchasing agent to listen to the pitch." Olivia is a sales representative of Office Express who knows that the company's products are the best in the industry. She always discusses price terms and quality in a straightforward manner before mailing out the orders.
During one of these sale calls to the target's purchasing manager, Olivia stated she was good friends with the company's manager, Edith, whom she claimed had asked her to call. As it turned out, Edith did not even know Olivia. During the conversation, Olivia said that due to an error at their vendor's plant in Hong Kong, Office Express had received excess supplies of premium copier paper and printing ink that it needed to sell at a deep discount in a hurry. This statement was also not the case.
Do these sales practices constitute fraud under the mail fraud statute? How, if at all, do the misrepresentations differ from those in Hawkey? Are intent to deceive and intent to defraud necessarily the same thing? Explain thoroughly.
Please cite applicable federal regulations, statutes or cases in support of your analysis.