Opinion ID: 549775
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Causing the Concealment of a Material Fact from the

Text: Federal Election Commission 27 Counts 2 and 3 of the indictment charged that the defendants violated, or caused to be violated, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1001, which prohibits the knowing or willfull concealment of material facts from an agency of the United States. Robert and Morten Hopkins were both convicted on these counts for concealing material facts from the Federal Election Commission in two reports to the FEC from the Hopkins' political action committee. 28 The Hopkins first contend that the Government did not present sufficient evidence to prove that the defendants' failure to disclose the true source of the political contributions was willfull. The Hopkins' contention is meritless. The Government may prove that a false representation is made knowingly and willfully by proof that the defendant acted deliberately and with knowledge that the representation was false. United States v. Guzman, 781 F.2d 428, 431 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1143, 106 S.Ct. 1798, 90 L.Ed.2d 343 (1986). The Government here presented ample evidence to establish both of these items. The jury was entitled to infer from the defendants' elaborate scheme for disguising their corporate political contributions that the defendants deliberately conveyed information they knew to be false to the Federal Election Commission. 29 The Hopkins also contend that if false reports were made, they did not make them or cause them to be made. While it may be true that the Hopkins themselves did not make the reports, it is clear that they deliberately caused those reports to contain false information. 9 The evidence showed that by keeping him unaware of their scheme, the Hopkins caused another individual, the Treasurer of their political action committee, to report to the Federal Election Commission that the contributions to the political action committee were from individuals. [I]t is well-established that [18 U.S.C.] Sec. 2(b) was designed to impose criminal liability on one who causes an intermediary to commit a criminal act, even though the intermediary who performed the act has no criminal intent and hence is innocent of the substantive crime charged. United States v. Tobon-Builes, 706 F.2d 1092, 1099 (11th Cir.1983). See also United States v. Cure, 804 F.2d 625, 629 (11th Cir.1986). 30