[wideawake]

Individuals own shares of the pension fund. When you steal from that fund, you are injuring the rights of those individuals. Labelling such a crime as "defrauding a pension fund" or what have you is nothing more than convenient shorthand for saying "defrauding the following 1000 people who own shares in this fund."

I see.

So the 1000 people who own shares in the fund have a mutual interest they share, namely the integrity and success of a pension fund into which they have invested.

Is it just possible that the millions of people living in America might have a shared interest in something like civility or a general level of self-discipline?

Might such things mutually benefit all concerned, just as the integrity of the pension fund would mutually benefit all concerned?

Further, isn't it possible that one of the pension fund investors might be the one doing the defrauding, sacrificing the mutual benefit of the fund's success for the much more selfish benefit of seizing all the fund's assets for himself?

Would it likewise be possible that a person would forgo the mutual benefit of civility or self-control for a wild night out, despite the negative externalities that his decision would create?

[Modernman]

So the 1000 people who own shares in the fund have a mutual interest they share, namely the integrity and success of a pension fund into which they have invested.

No. The 1000 people each have an individual property interest in some percentage of the pension fund.

Is it just possible that the millions of people living in America might have a shared interest in something like civility or a general level of self-discipline?

Not really. At least, not beyond being protected from personal or property damage due to incivility or lack of self-discipline.