Opinion ID: 2632290
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Investment of money

Text: As this Court explained in Resource Serv. Co., Inc., [a]n `investment' typically involves parting with money for the purpose and in the reasonable expectation of making a profit. 130 Idaho at 882, 950 P.2d at 254. This Court further explained that the inquiry should focus on the objectively reasonable expectations of the investors. Id. at 882-83, 950 P.2d at 254-55. Because this analysis focuses on the question of whether the investors expected profits or something different, it overlaps with the key analysis under the third prong in this casewhether the investors had a reasonable expectation of profits. Consequently, the question of whether the investors were seeking profits or something more akin to interest on a loan will be addressed further under the analysis of the third prong, below. What is clear under this first prong is that the jury, having rendered a guilty verdict after being instructed as to the Howey-Forman test, implicitly found that the victims gave money to Gertsch expecting something in return. The record contains sufficient evidence to support that finding.