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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Plaintiff, 

v. Case No.: 15-20382 

 Honorable Victoria A. Roberts 

PAUL NICOLETTI, 

 Defendants. 

______________________________/ 

ORDER DENYING MOTION IN LIMINE TO PRECLUDE 

THE GOVERNMENT FROM CALLING ONE AGENT ON MULTIPLE 

OCCASIONS IN ITS CASE IN CHIEF (Doc. 53) 

I. INTRODUCTION 

The United States Government charged Paul Nicoletti (“Nicoletti”) in a four-count 

indictment with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aiding and abetting bank fraud. 

Nicoletti filed a motion in limine to preclude the Government from calling F.B.I case 

agent, S.A. Christine Taylor, and Fifth Third Investigator, Darrin Morgan, multiple times 

in its case in chief. The Government says that splitting their testimony would 

substantially reduce the possibility of jury confusion and will aid the jury in determining 

the truth. 

Nicoletti’s Motion is DENIED. 

II. BACKGROUND 

Nicoletti, an attorney licensed in the State of Michigan and President of 

Continental Title Insurance Agency, Inc., was indicted on one count of conspiracy to 

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commit bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 and three counts of aiding and 

abetting bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344 & 2. 

The indictment alleges that Nicoletti willfully conspired with and aided and 

abetted others to execute and attempt to execute a scheme to defraud and obtain 

money from Fifth Third Bank. Each of the three counts is for a separate multi-million 

dollar mortgage/construction loan that Nicoletti allegedly secured under materially false 

and fraudulent pretenses and representations. 

The Indictment also alleges that as part of the scheme and conspiracy, Nicoletti 

and his alleged co-conspirators employed straw buyers to serve as mortgage loan 

applicants for the purchase of real property that the conspirators wanted to purchase 

and develop. It was also allegedly part of the scheme and conspiracy to provide false 

information in the loan applications regarding the income and assets of the straw 

buyers, the source of the down payments for the loans, and the intentions of the 

purported purchasers to use the properties as their primary residences to qualify the 

straw buyers for the loans. 

According to the Indictment, Nicoletti’s role in the conspiracy was to knowingly 

facilitate the fraudulent real estate transactions by acting as the title agent, 

coordinating and conducting real estate closings, preparing HUD-1 Settlement 

Statements, and disbursing the proceeds of the mortgage loans. 

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW 

District courts may rule on motions in limine under their authority to manage trials. 

The Court “has substantial discretion in its control of the presentation of evidence at trial” 

under Fed. R. Evid. 611(a), this includes whether a witness may testify multiple times 

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throughout a trial. See Davis v. City of Memphis Fire Dept., 576 Fed.Appx. 464 (6th Cir. 

2014) (the district court did not err by not permitting the plaintiff to recall a witness to 

repeat earlier testimony); see also Roush v. Burt, 2005 WL 6365795 *11 (E.D. MI., Jan. 

18, 2015) (“the recall of a prosecution’s witness to the stand is within the sound discretion 

of the trial court.”). 

IV. DISCUSSION 

The Government intends to call F.B.I case agent, S.A. Christine Taylor (“Taylor”), 

and Fifth Third Investigator, Darrin Morgan (“Morgan”), multiple times in its case in chief 

to summarize, publish and/or explain numerous documents which are expected to be 

admitted at trial pertaining to six mortgage/construction loans that Fifth Third Bank 

funded. The witnesses will testify as summary, overview, and fact witnesses for each 

loan. The Government says that this strategy is the most effective procedure to reduce 

the possibility of jury confusion, and will improve its ability to determine the truth. 

The Court notes that at least three other judges in this district have followed this 

format – with a limiting instruction – in complex fraud cases and found that it moves the 

case along expeditiously, and avoids jury confusion. See e.g. United States v. John 

Bravata, et al., Judge Paul Borman, an eight-week investment fraud trial; United States 

v. Kwame Kilpatrick, Judge Nancy G. Edmonds, a six-month jury trial; United States v. 

James Wiese, et al., Judge John Corbett O’Meara, a three-week mortgage fraud trial. 

All of these cases were complex and involved thousands of documents. 

Nicoletti says this case is different. He says that it is not complex or so long that 

the jury will not be able to follow the facts. Nicoletti says that the Court should preclude 

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the Government from calling Morgan and Taylor to testify multiple times. Specifically, 

Nicoletti has an issue with Morgan and Taylor as summary witnesses. 

He says the Government’s proposed strategy will allow the government to unfairly 

present its theory multiple times; unfairly enhance the witnesses’ credibility; consume 

needless time; and present testimony in an episodic manner. 

To support his motion, Nicoletti relies on United States v. Baker, 2010 WL 

3173036, at *4 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 9, 2010). The Baker court denied the Government’s motion 

in limine to recall witnesses during its case in chief, because the government did not 

show “that proceeding in an episodic manner will aid the jury’s understanding of the case 

or avoid the needless consumption of time,” despite the lack of objection from the 

defendant.) Id. 

Baker does not persuade the Court. The case does not give any background 

information – such as how the testimony is relevant to the charges, the type of testimony 

the witnesses will give, or what the witnesses were going to testify about – to aid the 

Court in its decision. 

Nicoletti’s arguments are unavailing. The Government charged him with three 

separate counts of bank fraud for three different loan transactions. The Court finds that 

allowing the witnesses to testify several times for each loan, will avoid jury confusion and 

will move the case along expeditiously. 

The Court will allow the Government to recall Taylor and Morgan during the trial. 

The Court will instruct the jury that this scenario does not elevate the testimony of either 

witness above that of any other witness. The Court invites the parties to file a stipulatedto instruction for the Court to consider. 

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In his Reply to the Government’s Response, Nicoletti makes the request for his 

expert to testify multiple times as well. The Court reserves ruling. 

V. CONCLUSION

This Court DENIES Nicoletti’s Motion in Limine to preclude the government from 

calling F.B.I Agent, Christine Taylor, and Fifth Third Investigator, Darrin Morgan, 

multiple times in its case in chief. 

IT IS ORDERED. 

 S/ Victoria A. Roberts 

 Victoria A. Roberts 

 United States District Judge 

Dated: April 18, 2017 

The undersigned certifies that a copy of this 

document was served on the attorneys of 

record by electronic means or U.S. Mail on 

April 18, 2017. 

s/Linda Vertriest 

Deputy Clerk 

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