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

Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, aiding and abetting copyright infringement, and aiding and abetting the trafficking of counterfeit goods. Defendant's convictions stemmed from his role as the owner of a flea market where vendors sold counterfeit goods. The court rejected defendant's argument that the statutes under which he was charged and convicted are unconstitutional as applied to him because he did not have fair notice that his behavior was criminal; it was unclear what he should have done to avoid liability; and law enforcement enforced the statutes arbitrarily. In this case, defendant was not merely a passive landlord who is merely renting his property. Rather, defendant was actively involved at his market, continually reminded his vendors that he was in charge, and even involved himself in regulating the prices of counterfeit goods. Even if defendant had been a less active landlord, a person of ordinary intelligence would reasonably understand that intentionally selling counterfeit products at a flea market, or willfully infringing copyrighted works at the market for financial gain, could result in criminal liability, and that intentionally aiding and abetting such conduct could result in the same. Furthermore, the evidence shows that defendant received actual notice that his conduct as the operator of the flea market was unlawful. The evidence showed that defendant both understood that his tenants were acting contrary to the law and actively helped to facilitate the unlawful conduct to his and his tenants’ financial benefit. In this case, defendant presents no reason to believe the statutes at issue did not clearly apply to him, and he fails to consider that although his arrest did not occur sooner, he was given numerous warnings over the years that his conduct violated the law. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Frison, Sr." on Justia Law

Defendants Nshanian and Nash were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud. Defendants' convictions stemmed from their involvement in a scheme to purchase real estate using material misrepresentations. The court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to convict Nshanian where a reasonable jury could infer that he knew of the conspiracy and scheme to defraud, and that he intended to defraud lenders. Therefore, the district court did not err in denying Nshanian’s motion for judgment of acquittal. The court also concluded that the district court did not err at sentencing when it imposed a two-level increase for obstruction of justice pursuant to USSG 3C1.1 where the record is clear that the district court recognized its obligation to consider whether inaccurate testimony resulted from confusion, mistake or faulty memory. Under these circumstances, the district court’s finding was adequate. The court also concluded that Nshanian's 42-month sentence was substantively reasonable where it represented a substantial downward variance from the advisory guideline range. Finally, Nash's 42-month sentence was also substantively reasonable where the district court considered the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors and sentenced Nash to a lower advisory guideline range. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Arman Nshanian" 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

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

Knight is a licensed attorney, and the charges against him stem from his representation of a Barber in a bankruptcy proceeding, in 2008-2010. Knight was convicted of conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud, 18 U.S.C. 371 and 157; aiding and abetting bankruptcy fraud; aiding and abetting the making of a false statement in relation to a bankruptcy case; and five counts of aiding and abetting money laundering, 18 U.S.C. 1957 and 2. The district court granted Knight a new trial on the conspiracy, bankruptcy fraud, and money laundering counts, granted his motion for judgment of acquittal on the false statement count, and conditionally granted him a new trial on the false statement count in the event of reversal on appeal. The Eighth Circuit reversed the acquittal on the false statement charge, but affirmed the decision to grant Knight a new trial on all counts of conviction, noting evidence that Knight and Barber used the IOLTA to keep Barber's creditors from learning that he had money available and evidence concerning a sham entity that was used to divert money to Barber's own pocket. View "United States v. Knight" on Justia Law

Waters obtained a job at West. Cafesjian was a senior executive. Cafesjian later moved to Florida; retired; sold his shares for $250 million when West was sold; started a foundation and the GLC family office; and hired Waters to manage GLC in Minneapolis. Cafesjian opened a personal account with Northern Trust in Florida. Both men were signatories, Waters opened Minneapolis US Bank account. Both men were signatories. Transfers from Cafesjian’s Northern account funded the US Bank account. Between 1999 and 2004, Waters wrote more than 120 checks on the US Bank account, generally for exactly $5,000, $6,000, or $7,000, totaling $1,373,525. Waters ensured that no one else saw the bank statements and instructed GLC’s bookkeeper on how to record transactions. Much of the money went through accounts held by Waters’ girlfriend, his daughters, and an exchange student. When Waters resigned and was investigated, Waters claimed that Cafesjian was incompetent and that the money was related to deferred compensation. Civil suits were stayed when Waters was charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax-related crimes. Convicted, Waters was sentenced to 108 months. The court found Waters embezzled between $2.5 and $7 million, used sophisticated means to perpetrate the fraud, and obstructed justice. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, rejecting challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence, loss calculations, and sentencing enhancements. View "United States v. Waters" on Justia Law

King pled guilty in Arkansas state court to 1,577 counts of forgery and theft of property for embezzling more than $700,000 from the school district where she worked. The court sentenced King to 80 years imprisonment, within the guidelines range. King had no criminal history and claims she accepted the plea because of threats that her husband and son would also be charged. Five months later, the court reduced King’s sentence to 20 years imprisonment, under Arkansas Code 16-90-111, which allows a trial court to “correct an illegal sentence at any time” or to “correct a sentence imposed in an illegal manner within . . . ninety (90) days after the sentence is imposed.” The state appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which reinstated King’s 80-year sentence, finding the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the reduction because the 90-day period for doing so had expired. King sought federal habeas relief. Although the district court was clearly sympathetic, it found no grounds for habeas relief. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, holding that King is not entitled to habeas relief based on her disagreement with the Arkansas Supreme Court’s interpretation of Arkansas law. View "King v. Kelley" on Justia Law

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Arrington, Kratville, Welke, Elite Holdings, and MJM, alleging that they fraudulently induced more than 130 individuals to invest $4.7 million in commodity pools, in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), 7 U.S.C. 1. The district court granted summary judgment against Kratville. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, upholding denial of his request for more time to review purportedly new evidence; consideration affidavits from investors who signed releases and from investors who allegedly lacked credibility; refusal to consider the affidavit of an expert opining on the authenticity of emails; summary judgment on the CFTC's claim that Kratville committed fraud and related violations of the CEA and CFTC regulations in soliciting persons to invest and maintain funds in commodity investment pools; and a determination that the litigation strategy of Kratville's attorney was not excusable neglect warranting relief under FRCP 60(b)(1). Kratville's misrepresentations and omissions related to potential profit and risk, the identities of brokers, and ownership of a proprietary trading system were material. He hid from investors that pool funds were being sent out of the country and that the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance had ordered Elite Pools to be closed and participants’ funds to be returned. View "Commodity Futures Trading Comm'n v. Kratville" on Justia Law

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Arrington, Kratville, Welke, Elite Holdings, and MJM, alleging that they fraudulently induced more than 130 individuals to invest $4.7 million in commodity pools, in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), 7 U.S.C. 1. The district court granted summary judgment against Kratville. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, upholding denial of his request for more time to review purportedly new evidence; consideration affidavits from investors who signed releases and from investors who allegedly lacked credibility; refusal to consider the affidavit of an expert opining on the authenticity of emails; summary judgment on the CFTC's claim that Kratville committed fraud and related violations of the CEA and CFTC regulations in soliciting persons to invest and maintain funds in commodity investment pools; and a determination that the litigation strategy of Kratville's attorney was not excusable neglect warranting relief under FRCP 60(b)(1). Kratville's misrepresentations and omissions related to potential profit and risk, the identities of brokers, and ownership of a proprietary trading system were material. He hid from investors that pool funds were being sent out of the country and that the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance had ordered Elite Pools to be closed and participants’ funds to be returned. View "Commodity Futures Trading Comm'n v. Kratville" on Justia Law