https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/pronunciation-of-indict Indict means "to formally decide that someone should be put on trial for a crime." It comes from the Latin word that means "to proclaim." . So you are sort of correct in the meaning, in this sentence, but actually reading a little too much into it. . Yes, it is saying that there is some sort of crime here. Probably the crime is one of misrepresentation, or perhaps one of excess. . BTW: (fromthat page) Why do we pronounce indict \in-DYTE\? Other legal terms in English that share the Latin root dicere ("to say") are pronounced as they are spelled: edict, interdict, verdict.