Opinion ID: 612988
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: O'Connor also maintains that the evidence was insufficient to support her wire-fraud conviction. Sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenges carry a very steep standard of review; we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and reverse only if no rational juror would have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Roberts, 534 F.3d 560, 569 (7th Cir.2008). To convict O'Connor of wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, the government had to prove that she: (1) participated in a scheme to defraud; (2) had the intent to defraud; and (3) used the wires in furtherance of the fraudulent scheme. Id. O'Connor first claims that because she believed that Cross would make the mortgage payments and never meant to cheat the banks out of money, she lacked intent to defraud. This argument misunderstands the intent element of wire fraud. To win a conviction under § 1343, the government only needed to prove a willful act by the defendant with the specific intent to deceive or cheat, usually for the purpose of getting financial gain for one's self or causing financial loss to another. Id. at 571 (emphasis added) (quotation marks omitted). The government did not need to prove that O'Connor intended to harm the banks or cause them to lose money. United States v. Leahy, 464 F.3d 773, 786-87 (7th Cir.2006). The government's evidence established (or so a jury reasonably could believe) that in exchange for $20,000 in side payments from Cross, O'Connor knowingly processed seven fraudulent loan packages and forwarded them on to lenders with the intent that they would provide mortgage funding. This is sufficient to establish intent to defraud. O'Connor also claims that she was merely an unwitting pawn who lacked substantial education or training and was tricked into participating in Cross's scheme. She points out that she told the FBI that she thought Cross's deals looked clean. She emphasizes as well that she did not graduate from high school and had limited training as a loan officer. She cites United States v. Bailey, 859 F.2d 1265, 1273-75 (7th Cir.1988), which held that proof of knowing participation in a fraudulent scheme requires more than knowledge of shadowy dealings, superficial participation, or the exchange of money. Unlike in Bailey, the evidence establishes that O'Connor was heavily involved in the fraudulent scheme. She knowingly processed and sent to lenders for approval multiple fraudulent mortgage-loan applications falsely representing that persons other than Cross were purchasing the subject properties. She also met with some of the straw buyers and falsely reported on several loan forms that she had personally interviewed the applicants when she had not. Most damning is O'Connor's acceptance of nearly $20,000 in kickbacks from Cross, a fact she admitted at trial. This quid pro quo  trading her sham approvals of multiple fraudulent loan applications for thousands of dollars in under-the-table payments  is convincing evidence of fraudulent intent. To be sure, Bailey does suggest that proving intent to defraud might be more difficult when the defendant is an unsophisticated low-level participant rather than, for example, a highly educated corporate executive. See id. at 1275. But we have cautioned that Bailey do[es] not supply an unsophisticated defendant with an automatic defense to a fraud ... indictment. United States v. Johnson, 927 F.2d 999, 1005 (7th Cir.1991). This principle is particularly applicable here. The government offered ample evidence of O'Connor's guilt. Accepting her exculpatory theory would require us to read the evidence in her favor rather than in favor of the jury's verdict. The evidence was more than sufficient to convict.