Opinion ID: 588163
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Further Negotiations and Swindall's Eventual Rejection of the Deal

Text: 20 On September 18, Agent Mullaney advised LeChasney that he would deliver $150,000 in advance, and the balance directly to Swindall at the time the note was transferred. The agent insisted that he receive a handwritten note from Swindall acknowledging that Swindall had received the $150,000 from the agent himself and not from LeChasney's buffer corporation. 21 Because Agent Mullaney's superiors ordered him to delay delivery of the advance payment, LeChasney, still eager to receive his commission, agreed to advance Swindall the $150,000. In fact, LeChasney did not have $150,000. He was able, however, to present Swindall with a check in that amount drawn from the escrow account of his attorney, Douglas Daum (Daum). LeChasney, with the aid of an accomplice at Dean Witter, falsely represented to Daum that he had enough money in a Dean Witter account to cover the check. LeChasney meanwhile had incorporated the buffer corporation, called the Gulf Coast Mortgage Company. The government introduced evidence that the $150,000 check was part of the larger deal. The defense contended that this was a truly separate loan agreement between LeChasney and Swindall and that LeChasney would be reimbursed by Agent Mullaney only if Swindall and the agent came to an agreement. 22 On Friday, September 25, Swindall received the check at Daum's office. Swindall signed a document evidencing his receipt of the check, but the document acknowledged only LeChasney's corporation, not the undercover agent. Swindall assigned in writing $150,000 of his million-dollar note to LeChasney's corporation as an advance upon a real estate loan upon my residence ... the total amount of the loan to be ... $850,000. Swindall then delivered the check to the builder of his home. 23 Swindall and Agent Mullaney had agreed to meet that weekend for delivery of the cash. On Saturday evening, however, Swindall called the agent to inform him that he was not going forward with the transaction because of the potential liability. They spoke again later in the evening in an unsuccessful attempt to save the deal. Swindall told the agent, The only reason I can't [sign the note acknowledging the cash from the agent] is I would be essentially laundering y'all's money, which I can't do. In other words, if Charles wants to launder y'all's money, fine. But I can't do that. 24 Although Swindall argues that the $150,000 check had nothing to do with the larger transaction, once the deal with Agent Mullaney fell through, (1) Swindall called the builder and told him not to deposit the check; (2) Swindall returned the check to Daum; (3) LeChasney returned Swindall's note; and (4) Daum and LeChasney stopped payment on their respective checks. The IRS closed the investigation against Swindall. LeChasney, however, attempted unsuccessfully during the next few weeks to resuscitate the deal. 25