Justia U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

In early 2020, the Sioux Falls Police Department began investigating Robin and Lanny Vensand for methamphetamine distribution. Surveillance and traffic stops led to drug seizures, and a search of their residence yielded 844 grams of methamphetamine and $27,000 in cash. The investigation expanded with the DEA's involvement, revealing that Salvador Madrigal Jr. orchestrated a drug transportation network from California to South Dakota, employing couriers like William Hartwick and Maria Magana-Zavala. Madrigal's wife, Anahi Cardona, assisted in coordinating logistics. The operation also involved money laundering activities, with Madrigal, Cardona, and Madrigal's mother structuring bank deposits to avoid federal reporting requirements.The United States District Court for the District of South Dakota convicted Madrigal and Cardona of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Madrigal was sentenced to 400 months for methamphetamine distribution and 240 months for money laundering, to be served concurrently. Cardona was sentenced to 265 months for methamphetamine distribution and 240 months for money laundering, also to be served concurrently. Cardona's requests for safety-valve relief and challenges to the drug quantity attributed to her were denied.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reviewed the case. Madrigal challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, arguing coercion by the cartel, but the court found ample evidence supporting his convictions. Cardona also challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, the admission of hearsay testimony, the drug quantity attributed to her, the denial of safety-valve relief, and claimed an unwarranted sentencing disparity. The court found sufficient evidence of her involvement in the methamphetamine conspiracy, upheld the admission of testimony as statements made in furtherance of the conspiracy, and found no error in the drug quantity determination or the denial of safety-valve relief. The court also found no abuse of discretion in her sentencing. The convictions and sentences were affirmed. View "United States v. Madrigal" on Justia Law

Julian R. Bear Runner, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) and its President from December 2018 to December 2020, was convicted of wire fraud, larceny, and embezzlement and theft from an Indian Tribal Organization. He manipulated the Tribe’s travel policies to embezzle over $80,000, which he used for gambling at the Prairie Wind Casino. Bear Runner pressured travel specialists to approve fraudulent travel requests and never repaid the advance payments.The United States District Court for the District of South Dakota sentenced Bear Runner to 22 months in prison and ordered $82,484 in restitution. Bear Runner appealed, arguing that the government failed to prove the requisite criminal intents for his offenses and that the district court committed procedural and substantive errors in sentencing.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the jury’s verdict, stating that sufficient evidence supported the finding that Bear Runner intended to defraud, steal, and embezzle. The court noted that fraudulent intent could be inferred from the facts and circumstances surrounding Bear Runner’s actions, including his manipulation of the approval process and his failure to repay the funds.Regarding sentencing, the court found no procedural error, as Bear Runner did not accept responsibility for his actions. The court also found no substantive error, as the district court acted within its discretion in considering similarly situated defendants and determining that Bear Runner’s individual circumstances warranted a different outcome. The judgment of the district court was affirmed. View "United States v. Runner" on Justia Law

Najawaun Quinn, Dimetri Smith, and three others were charged with 18 counts of racketeering and firearm offenses related to their association with the Savage Life Boys Gang (SLB Gang) in Davenport, Iowa. The other three defendants pleaded guilty. After a trial, Quinn was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition. Smith was found guilty of two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and two counts of use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. The district court denied their motions for judgment of acquittal.The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa reviewed the case and found no reversible error. The court held that the SLB Gang constituted an "enterprise" under the racketeering statute, as it had a common purpose, relationships among members, and sufficient longevity. The court also found that Quinn and Smith committed the violent assaults to maintain or increase their positions within the gang. The court rejected the argument that the SLB Gang lacked the necessary structure to be considered an enterprise.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to prove that the SLB Gang was an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity and that Quinn and Smith committed the violent assaults to maintain or increase their positions within the gang. The court also upheld the jury instructions and sentencing decisions, finding no abuse of discretion or plain error. The court concluded that the district court's factual determinations were supported by the evidence and that the defendants were not entitled to a reduction for acceptance of responsibility. View "United States v. Quinn" on Justia Law

Joe May was indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and violations of the Anti-Kickback statute, among other charges, related to defrauding TRICARE. May, a medical doctor, was recruited to sign prescriptions for compounded drugs without evaluating patients. He signed 226 prescriptions, mostly without determining medical necessity. May received cash payments for his participation. When investigated, May created false medical records and lied to the FBI.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas convicted May on all counts and sentenced him to 102 months imprisonment, ordering restitution of over $4.6 million. May appealed, challenging the admission of business records, limitations on cross-examination, jury instructions, the government's closing argument, and the sufficiency of evidence for certain charges.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reviewed the case. The court found no abuse of discretion in admitting business records or limiting cross-examination. The court upheld the jury instructions and found no error in the government's closing argument. The court determined there was sufficient evidence for the conspiracy, mail fraud, and kickback charges. However, the court found plain error in one count of aggravated identity theft related to Perry Patterson, as the jury was not instructed on the correct underlying offense.The Eighth Circuit reversed the conviction on the aggravated identity theft count related to Patterson, remanded to vacate the special assessment for that count, and affirmed all other aspects of the case. View "United States v. May" on Justia Law

Marcus Millsap was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), aiding and abetting attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Millsap was involved with the New Aryan Empire, a white-supremacist organization engaged in drug trafficking. He assisted the organization's president, Wesley Gullett, in drug operations and attempted to retaliate against Bruce Hurley, a police informant, by offering money to have him killed. Gullett attempted to kill Hurley but failed, and Hurley was later murdered by an unknown perpetrator.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas sentenced Millsap to life imprisonment. Millsap appealed, arguing that his indictment should have been dismissed due to a violation of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act, and that the district court made several errors regarding evidentiary issues and juror intimidation. He also challenged his sentence if the convictions were upheld.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reviewed the case. The court found that the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act did not apply because Millsap was transferred to federal custody via a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum before a detainer was lodged. The court also held that there was no sufficient showing of juror intimidation to justify a mistrial. The court found the evidence sufficient to support Millsap's convictions on all counts, including his association with the drug-trafficking enterprise and his involvement in the attempted murder of Hurley.The court also ruled that the district court did not err in admitting co-conspirator statements and other evidence, and that any potential errors were harmless. The court upheld the district court's application of sentencing enhancements and the calculation of Millsap's criminal history points. Consequently, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Millsap" on Justia Law

The case involves a group of grocery store owner-operators and their related company, Anchor Mobile Food Markets, Inc. (AMFM), who sued Onex Partners IV, Onex Corporation, Anthony Munk, and Matthew Ross (collectively, Onex) for violations of Missouri common law and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The owner-operators had invested in the discount grocery chain Save-A-Lot and its independent licensee program, which turned out to be a disastrous investment. They alleged that Onex, which had acquired Save-A-Lot, had fraudulently induced them into the investment.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri had granted summary judgment to Onex. The court found that the owner-operators had signed multiple contractual releases and anti-reliance disclaimers before opening their stores, which barred their claims. The owner-operators and AMFM argued that these releases and disclaimers were fraudulently induced.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision. The court found that the owner-operators failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact that they were fraudulently induced to enter the releases. The court also found that the releases were valid and barred the owner-operators' claims. The court further found that AMFM's claims against Onex failed, as neither Save-A-Lot nor Onex had contracted with AMFM. Finally, the court affirmed the district court's denial of the owner-operators and AMFM's request for leave to amend their complaint. View "SBFO Operator No. 3, LLC v. Onex Corporation" on Justia Law

Defendant ended up at a Twin Cities chiropractic clinic after an automobile accident. The visit resulted in a job: the clinic hired him to recruit patients. And then another one did too. Defendant’s role was to bring in as many accident victims as possible. Each new patient could undergo treatment up to $20,000, the limit of basic economic benefits available under most Minnesota automobile insurance policies. After a jury trial, the district court ordered Defendant to pay $187,277 in restitution to the insurance companies he defrauded. On remand, the amount of restitution decreased. This time, the district court concluded that Defendant qualified as a runner for only 53 of the 65 victims, which dropped the award to $155,864. Defendant, for his part, has adopted an all-or-nothing strategy: he does not believe he owes a single penny of restitution.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that Defendant received up to $1,500 per patient he recruited, which satisfies the pecuniary-gain requirement. A series of text messages establishes the remaining elements. When the clinic owner later said she was “praying for some ice and snow” to bring in more clients, Defendant replied that he had “been praying for [the] last four weeks.” It was reasonable to conclude from these messages that Hussein “directly procure[d]” these patients with at least a “reason to know,” if not actual knowledge, that the provider’s purpose was to obtain benefits under an automobile-insurance contract. View "United States v. Abdisalan Hussein" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. 1343. Defendant's conviction stemmed from his involvement in a scheme to construct an aquaponics facility. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction; the district court did not abuse its discretion by instructing the jury on willful blindness; the district court did not err by giving a jury instruction that enabled a finding that only defendant committed wire fraud; the district court did not err by giving an explicit unanimity instruction where there was no genuine risk of the jury finding nonunanimously; and defendant waived his argument that the district court did not err by sua sponte individually polling the jury. View "United States v. Burns" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence for four counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of tax fraud. The court rejected defendant's numerous claims of Napue violations, concluding that the statements at issue were corrected and the allegedly false testimony was stricken from the record. In regard to the remaining Napue claims, the court concluded that the district court did not err in determining that the violations are harmless. The court also rejected defendant's Brady claim, concluding that the district court correctly determined that the government's failure to inform defendant of the reverse proffer did not constitute a Brady violation because the undisclosed evidence, even if favorable to defendant, was not material.The court also concluded that defendant failed to show that the district court committed clear error by concluding that the government did not violate the Jencks Act by failing to disclose an agent's report because the report included no statements made by government witnesses that related to the subject matter of their testimony. The court further concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support defendant's fraud convictions, and defendant is not entitled to a new trial based on the cumulative impact of alleged trial errors. Finally, the court concluded that defendant failed to show the existence of any legal error or clear factual error in the district court's fraud-loss calculation, and imposing an order of restitution equal to the amount of the loss was not erroneous. View "United States v. Ruzicka" on Justia Law

The Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's 58 month sentence imposed after he was convicted of conspiracy to commit theft of public funds, theft of public funds, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and mail fraud. Defendant's conviction stemmed from improper billing practices related to a federal program called the Child Care and Development Fund.The court held that the record supports the district court's conclusion that defendant was responsible for a loss amount between $250,000 and $550,000, and thus the offense level (and resulting guidelines range) was correct. In this case, defendant presented no evidence that he provided legitimate services or submitted legitimate bills. Furthermore, he provided no evidence differentiating legitimate from illegal billing. The court also held that the district court did not clearly err in concluding that the $536,833.75 paid to defendant's daycares by Missouri is the loss amount under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act. View "United States v. Karie" on Justia Law