Justia White Collar Crime Opinion Summaries

Defendant pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's application of a six-level enhancement under USSG 2B1.1(b)(2)(C) because the offense involved 250 or more victims, and a four-level enhancement under USSG 3B1.1(a) because defendant was an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive. The court concluded that defendant's sentence is procedurally reasonable and the district court properly applied the enhancements at issue. The court remanded for the limited purpose of allowing the district court to amend the written judgment to conform it to the oral sentence. The court otherwise affirmed. View "United States v. Jesrum" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, seven counts of health care fraud, and seven counts of aggravated identity theft. Defendant was sentenced to 135 months' imprisonment and ordered to pay $599,128.02 in restitution. The court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to convict defendant of the charges, and the district court did abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion for a new trial without first holding an evidentiary hearing where defendant's arguments rest on either non-exculpatory testimony or conclusory assertions. However, the court concluded that the district court abused its discretion by calculating the total loss suffered by the victims because the district court procedurally erred by failing to credit defendant for the fair market value of legitimate health care services that his hospitals rendered to patients. Therefore, the court vacated defendant's sentence, as well as the restitution order. The court remanded for resentencing. View "United States v. Mahmood" on Justia Law

Defendant, in an attempt to shield a residential property from foreclosure, transferred his assets through two entities and caused three bankruptcies to be filed. The district court convicted defendant of bankruptcy fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 157(3). The court rejected defendant's claims regarding constructive amendments to the indictment, concluding that defendant's conviction was based on the 2007 scheme to defraud alleged in the indictment and not a different or broader scheme; the district court did not plainly err in formulating the elements of the bankruptcy fraud conviction; and the district court’s formulation of the indictment’s misrepresentation did not constructively amend the indictment, and there is no plain error. Finally, the court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant and the district court's findings are supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Chaker" on Justia Law

Jamis Johnson was convicted of seven counts of mail fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and ten counts of money laundering. He appealed the denial of a motion for a new trial, challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, and alleged several instances of prosecutorial misconduct. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court. View "United States v. Johnson" on Justia Law

During the 2008–09 financial crisis, Wisconsin’s AnchorBank was struggling. Needing cash to pay its lenders, the bank’s president told vice president Weimert to try to sell the bank’s share in a Texas commercial real estate development. Weimert arranged a sale that exceeded the bank’s target price by one-third. Weimert persuaded potential buyers that he would be a useful partner. Their offer letters included having Weimert buy a minority interest in the property. The bank agreed and agreed to pay Weimert an unusual bonus to enable him to buy that interest. The government prosecuted Weimert for wire fraud on the theory that his actions established a scheme to obtain money or property by fraud. He was convicted on five of six counts under 18 U.S.C. 1343. The Seventh Circuit reversed and ordered judgment of acquittal. Federal wire fraud is an expansive tool, but does not criminalize a person’s lack of candor about the negotiating positions of parties to a business deal. Weimert led the buyer to believe the seller wanted him to have a piece of the deal. He led the seller to believe the buyer insisted he have a piece of the deal. All the actual terms, however, were fully disclosed and subject to negotiation. View "United States v. Weimert" on Justia Law

In 2009, Patel opened a pharmacy in the building where Dr. Fowler’s clinic operated and hired Shah as the manager. Shah paid Fowler to write prescriptions and send patients to Patel’s pharmacy. Patel introduced Fowler to Taylor, a “marketer” who would bring additional patients to Fowler’s clinic. Thoran, another marketer, would visit Patel’s pharmacy, to pick up prescriptions for 5-10 patients several times per week. The fraudulent prescriptions were resold on the street. Fowler and Thoran were convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to pay or receive health-care kickbacks. During Fowler’s sentencing hearing, the district court failed to calculate the Guidelines range and failed to make findings about why the sentence that served as its “starting point” was appropriate. At Thoran’s sentencing hearing, the court agreed to the parties’ stipulated Guidelines range without making any findings about why it was appropriate. The court relied on erroneous factual findings in determining the restitution amount for each defendant and sentenced Fowler to 72 months’ imprisonment and payment of restitution of $1,752,957. Thoran’s sentence was 108 months with restitution of $2,632,854. The Sixth Circuit vacated the sentences and restitution orders, but affirmed Thoran’s convictions. View "United States v. Thoran" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed her conviction of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. Defendant's conviction stemmed from her involvement in a conspiracy to solicit participation in fake credit-repair or grant programs. The court concluded that a reasonable jury could have found defendant guilty of the conspiracy and wire fraud counts beyond a reasonable doubt; the district court properly admitted voicemail messages where defendant is heard threatening a victim that she had her social security numbers, personal information, and knew where she lived, because the evidence was relevant to show intent and was not unfairly prejudicial; the district court court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for new trial based on a co-conspirator’s statement that defendant "killed a baby" where the statement was explained in context and was cured with further questioning; the district court's instruction sufficiently cured any potential prejudice caused by the prosecutor's comment in rebuttal closing; and the district court properly explained its reasons for defendant's sentence under the 18 U.S.C. 3353(a) factors and rejected defendant's claims that the district court should have varied downward. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Morris" on Justia Law

Defendant, former president, CEO, and chairman of the board of Bixby, was convicted of four counts of mail fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, witness tampering, and three counts of tax evasion. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to prove that defendant had the requisite intent to defraud Bixby investors; the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant of the tax evasion counts; the district court committed no clear error in reasonably estimating the actual loss resulting from defendant’s fraud offenses as equaling the total amounts lost by Bixby investors who submitted Victim Impact Statements; the district court did not err by imposing a two-level enhancement because defendant abused a position of public or private trust under USSG 3B1.3; and, because the Commission has not made retroactive the amendments on which defendant wishes to rely, 18 U.S.C. 3742(g)(1) would apply if he were resentenced, making the requested remand a futile exercise. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Walker" on Justia Law

In 2004 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) entered into a "Consent Judgment" with George Badger enjoining him from various activities and requiring him to pay $19.2 million. The government was only able to recover $6,548. It then sought a declaration that American Resources and Development, Inc. (ARDCO), Springfield Finance and Mortgage Company, LLC (Springfield), SB Trust, and ARDCO Leasing & Investment, LLC (ARDCO Leasing) (collectively, Defendants) were Badger’s alter egos so that their assets can be pursued to satisfy the Consent Judgment. While the claim was similar to one requesting to “pierce the veil” of a corporate entity and hold an individual liable for what on its face is a corporate debt, the Tenth Circuit saw the government's request in this case as a “reverse-piercing” claim because it sought to hold a corporation (or like entity) liable for the debt of an individual. The United States District Court for the District of Utah granted summary judgment for Defendants, ruling that the government’s reverse-piercing alter-ego theory was not available under Utah law. The Tenth Circuit rejected the district court's ruling, and held that Utah law recognizes the theory. The Court also rejected Defendants’ alternative ground for affirmance: that the claim is governed by the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act and was therefore barred as untimely. The Tenth Circuit found the Act did not apply to this action to enforce a disgorgement order. View "United States v. Badger" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed her conviction for one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of making a false claim against the United States. Defendant's convictions stemmed from her filing of fraudulent 1099-OID forms. Defendant argued that the district court erred when it excluded a video about fractional-reserve banking from evidence that she claims supported her good-faith defense. The court concluded that the district court's exclusion of the video from the jury deliberations did not affect defendant's substantial rights and admission of the video would not have changed the verdict. Accordingly, the court concluded that the district court did not err in excluding the video. The court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. McQuarry" on Justia Law