Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca11-15-12152/USCOURTS-ca11-15-12152-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Tiffany Foster
Appellee-Cross Appellant
United States of America
Appellant-Cross Appellee

Document Text:

[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

________________________

No. 15-12152

________________________

D.C. Docket No. 1:14-cr-20323-CMA-4

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellant

 Cross-Appellee,

versus

TIFFANY FOSTER,

a.k.a. Tiffany Coleman,

a.k.a. Tiffany Lee,

a.k.a. Tiffany Smith,

a.k.a. Tiffany Coleman Smith,

Defendant-Appellee

 Cross-Appellant.

________________________

Appeals from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Florida

________________________

(September 20, 2016)

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Before HULL and MARTIN, Circuit Judges, and WRIGHT,* District Judge.

PER CURIAM:

A jury found Tiffany Foster (Foster) guilty under two counts of the 

Superseding Indictment: conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud 

(Count I) and conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive 

kickbacks (Count IX). Foster moved for a new trial and filed a motion for 

judgment of acquittal, asserting that she had withdrawn from the conspiracies more 

than five years before the date of the original indictment, making the charges 

against her time-barred under the statute of limitations. The district court granted 

Foster’s motion for judgment of acquittal and denied as moot her motion for a new 

trial. The United States appeals the judgment of acquittal, and Foster cross 

appeals, asserting that the district court erred in not ruling upon her motion for a 

new trial. 

After review and oral argument, we conclude that the district court erred in 

granting judgment of acquittal. The parties agree that the district court properly 

instructed the jury on Foster’s defense of withdrawal from the conspiracies. 

However, on a motion for judgment of acquittal, the court must view the evidence 

in a light most favorable to the government and determine whether a reasonable 

 *

Honorable Susan Webber Wright, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of 

Arkansas, sitting by designation.

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jury could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. United 

States v. Miranda, 425 F.3d 953, 956 (11th Cir. 2005). In this case, while Foster 

presented evidence to support her defense, there was substantial evidence from 

which a reasonable jury could find that Foster had not withdrawn from the 

conspiracies more than five years before the indictment. Accordingly, we 

conclude that the district court erred in granting the motion for judgment of 

acquittal, reverse on that ground, vacate the judgment of acquittal dated April 16, 

2015, and remand for consideration of Foster’s motion for a new trial. 

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

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