Opinion ID: 212690
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Conspiracy to Commit Mail/Wire Fraud

Text: Crosgrove argues that there was no evidence as to his knowledge of the conspiracy. There was, however, ample evidence to support both the finding that Crosgrove knew of the conspiracy and the other elements of the mail/wire fraud conspiracy charge. At trial, the jury heard testimony from Ritson, other Haukedahl employees, the federal investigators involved in the case, an attorney Crosgrove had contacted on behalf of AREA in relation to a pending lawsuit, a friend of Crosgrove's with whom Crosgrove had discussed the nature of the insurance, state insurance investigators, and members' attorneys. This testimony, along with documents produced by the Government, supports the conclusion that Crosgrove knowingly participated in a conspiracy to commit mail/wire fraud. Ritson, the attorney who preceded Crosgrove at AREA/Noble, testified about the structure of AREA/Noble and Crosgrove's initial involvement. Ritson had trained Crosgrove in the claims process, and testified that he had explained to Crosgrove that Haukedahl made the final decision on whether claims would be paid, that claims were paid out of an account made up of members' dues, that the associations were essentially self-insured, and that one of Crosgrove's responsibilities in his new position would be to find a valid outside carrier. Ritson's testimony provided evidence that Crosgrove was aware, from the outset of his association with Haukedahl, that AREA/Noble was not covered by a policy from Midwest or any other outside company. The Government also introduced a letter from the Supervisor of Insurance for Barbados informing Crosgrove that Midwest's Barbados license had been revoked a year earlier and that Midwest might be operating without a valid license in the United States. This letter was dated June 15, 2001. Taking the trial evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, Crosgrove began working at AREA/Noble no later than late-May 2001. Therefore, the jury could have concluded from the Barbados letter that Crosgrove had notice within weeks of beginning work at AREA/Noble that the company had no valid outside carrier. Terry Lodge, an attorney who had formerly served as outside counsel to AREA/Noble, testified during the Government's case in chief. Lodge testified that Crosgrove never produced a copy of the insurance policy between Midwest and AREA, in spite of Lodge's repeated requests. The jury also heard several former AREA/Noble employees testify that they had never met or spoken with anyone from Midwest. A jury could reasonably conclude that if Crosgrove was unable to produce proof of a policy with Midwest and there was no contact between AREA/Noble and Midwest, Crosgrove must have been aware that Midwest was not truly providing outside insurance. There was also ample evidence that Crosgrove willingly continued his participation in the scheme in spite of its illegality. In a note to Troy Haukedahl, Mark Haukedahl's son, Crosgrove wrote: Here is the updated policies [sic]. The note went on to state: The changes I have made to the policy are highlighted and underlined. Of course, if the policy were actually provided by an outside entity, AREA/Noble would not modify the policy's contents before sending it to members. Crosgrove's revisions to the fraudulent policy, which was purportedly underwritten by Midwest, support the finding that he took an active role in the AREA/Noble fraud scheme. The Government also presented evidence that Crosgrove had instructed staff not to give out any information about Midwest, not to inform any callers that Midwest was an offshore entity, and not to give out his name to any caller. Additionally, Crosgrove used his John Thomas alias to respond to investigators from multiple state insurance departments. There was further evidence that Crosgrove repeatedly varied his statements regarding his position with the AREA/Noble/Midwest entities and the structure of the companies in dealings with members, members' attorneys, and investigators. In September 2001, Crosgrove wrote a letter to a member's attorney stating: As to the status of Midwest, I can't say, as I have no idea of whom you are talking about. Three weeks later, Crosgrove wrote a letter to a different member's attorney in which he claimed to represent Midwest. An investigator from the Montana Insurance Commission testified that Crosgrove wrote to her that AREA/Noble records were no longer available because a competing company came in and took over the customers as new accounts. Yet other evidence revealed that UREA was not a preexisting competitor, but rather a new company created solely for the purpose of transferring AREA/Noble assets, and that Crosgrove himself had written the memorandum of sale. Based on this evidence, a reasonable jury could conclude that Crosgrove willingly participated in efforts to conceal the fraud scheme and shield AREA/Noble's remaining assets from investigators. All of this evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the Government, supports the conclusion that any rational finder of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Crosgrove knowingly and willingly participated in the conspiracy to commit mail/wire fraud. Crosgrove's conviction for this count is amply supported by the evidence.