Opinion ID: 74730
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Major Theft Jury Instruction

Text: The jury convicted Nolan of three counts of major fraud against the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1031. Section 1031 reads, in pertinent part, as follows: Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, any scheme or artifice with the intent – (1) to defraud the United States; or (2) to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, in any procurement of property or services as a prime contractor with the United States . . . if the value of the contract . . . for such property or services is $1,000,000 or more, shall [be subject to fines and/or imprisonment]. 18 U.S.C. § 1031(a). Regarding the major fraud counts, the district court instructed the jury, in part, as follows: A defendant can be found guilty of a crime of committing major fraud against the United States only if all of the following facts are proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Now, the elements of this crime are set forth on pages eight and nine of the jury instructions.2 Let’s talk about them one by one. Number one, that the Defendant knowingly executed or attempted to 2 The printed jury instructions are not part of the record on appeal. 7 execute a scheme with the intent to defraud the United States, or to obtain money by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. Second, that the scheme took place as part of the acquisition of money as a contractor with the United States or as a subcontractor or a supplier on a contract with the United States. Third, that the value of the contract . . . that is the value of the amount to be paid under the contract . . . was one million dollars or more. R9 at 1662-1663 (emphasis supplied). Nolan objected to the proposed jury instruction regarding the second element of the major-fraud offense.3 Nolan requested that the district court replace the following proposed language, “That the scheme took place as part of the acquisition of money as a contractor with the United States [or as a subcontractor],” with the following language drafted by Nolan: “That the scheme or artifice to defraud occurred as part of any procurement of property or services as a prime contractor with the United States, [or as a subcontractor].” R8 at 1573 (emphasis supplied). Nolan argued that the language he requested more accurately tracked the language of the major-fraud statute, as § 1031 uses the word “procurement” instead of the proposed instruction’s “acquisition.” Also, § 1031 uses the words “property or services” instead of the proposed instruction’s 3 There is no Eleventh Circuit pattern jury instruction addressing the 18 U.S.C. § 1031 majorfraud offense. Additionally, this Court has never examined jury instructions regarding 18 U.S.C. § 1031. 8 “money.” Id. at 1574; 18 U.S.C. § 1031(a).4 The district court overruled Nolan’s objection. We have examined the jury instructions as a whole, and conclude that the district court’s major-fraud jury instruction was a proper statement of the law, and did not mislead the jury. See Deleveaux, 205 F.3d at 1296. Although the district court’s instructions did not track exactly the language of § 1031, the substituted words were similar in meaning to the words in the statute, and operated to clarify the meaning of the statute in the context of this case. For example, “acquire” is a generally accepted synonym of “procure.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 1809 (unabridged ed. 1993). Additionally, “money” is simply the form of “property or services” that Nolan received from the government under the contract at issue in this case. Because we conclude that the jury was properly guided by the instruction given by the district court, we also conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to give Nolan’s requested version of the major-fraud jury instruction.5 See Grigsby, 111 F.3d at 814. 4 In the district court, Nolan also argued that the words “or artifice” should be included after the word “scheme,” because the major fraud statute uses both terms. 18 U.S.C. § 1031(a). The district court overruled this objection because the Eleventh Circuit pattern jury instructions regarding mail fraud and wire fraud use only the word “scheme,” even though the statutes governing mail fraud and wire fraud, like § 1031, use “scheme or artifice.” Nolan has not raised this specific issue on appeal. 5 To the extent that Nolan argues that to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1031, the fraud must occur prior to or contemporaneous with the creation of the contract, we find that argument to be without 9 B. Sufficiency of the Evidence on Money Laundering Conviction Nolan was also convicted on one count of money laundering based on the withdrawal of the $345,970 duplicate payment from the PZ account and the deposit of that amount in the Renaissance account. On appeal, Nolan argues that there was not sufficient evidence to sustain the money laundering conviction. Money laundering occurs when one “knowingly engages or attempts to engage in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property.” 18 U.S.C. § 1957. The withdrawal of money from a bank account is a “monetary transaction.” 18 U.S.C. § 1957(f)(1). Money laundering is an offense to be punished separately from the underlying criminal offense, which in this case is the theft of the money from the government. See United States v. Christo, 129 F.3d 578, 579 (11th Cir. 1997) (citation omitted). Therefore, the primary issue in a money laundering charge involves “determining when the predicate crime becomes a ‘completed offense’ after which money laundering can occur.” Id. at 579-80 (citation omitted). merit. We believe that Congress intended § 1031 to sweep broadly to also cover fraud not only in the making of the contract, but also in the execution of the contract. See United States v. Brooks, 111 F.3d 365, 369 (4th Cir. 1997) (stating that the legislative history of § 1031 indicated a wide range of concern not only with monetary loss resulting from fraud, but also with safety concerns stemming from, e.g., the provision of defective parts for helicopters and weapons). We conclude that the district court’s major-fraud jury instructions, considered in total, adequately stated the law applicable to violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1031. 10 Nolan’s money laundering conviction was based on the transfer of the $345,970 from the PZ account to the Renaissance account. The predicate criminal offense was the initial theft of that money from the government. Therefore, to support Nolan’s money laundering conviction, the government was required to prove that the theft offense was a completed criminal offense before Nolan withdrew the funds from the PZ account and deposited them into the Renaissance account. 18 U.S.C. § 1957(f)(2); United States v. Gregg, 179 F.3d 1312, 1315 (11th Cir. 1999). On appeal, Nolan argues that the theft offense was not completed when the $345,970 was deposited in the PZ account, but only after Nolan transferred the funds to the Renaissance account. Since this transfer was an element of the money laundering offense, Nolan argues that he did not commit separate theft and money laundering crimes. We conclude, however, that the theft was a completed crime when Nolan ordered the deposit of the duplicate payment from the ACOE into the PZ account. The evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the government, indicates that Nolan’s administrative assistant, Sheila Carter, notified Nolan of the ACOE’s error in forwarding the duplicate payment. Shortly thereafter, Miguel Michelena, the computer assistant, raised the issue again with Nolan. As he had 11 told Carter initially, Nolan told Michelena to deposit the money into the PZ account and that they would worry about the error if the ACOE discovered it. This evidence supports an inference that when the money was deposited in the PZ account, Nolan had control over the money as if he had robbed the government and “placed the proceeds of the robbery into his own account with the intent to use the money for his own purposes.” Gregg, 179 F.3d at 1315 (holding that a bank fraud was a completed crime when the defendant “fraudulently obtained the deposit of the proceeds of [a] check into his account, with the intent at that time to eventually withdraw the money from the account for his own use”). Unlike the account in Gregg, the PZ account was not technically Nolan’s account. However, we find this to be a distinction without a material difference. Nolan’s ability to withdraw the money from the PZ account and deposit it in the Renaissance account shows that he had control over the PZ account as if it was his own. Because we conclude that the theft offense was complete when the $345,970 was deposited in the PZ account pursuant to Nolan’s command, we find that there was sufficient evidence to support Nolan’s conviction for the separate money laundering offense when Nolan withdrew the money from the PZ account and deposited it into the Renaissance account.