Opinion ID: 743028
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence as to Counts III and IV

Text: 10 The federal statute governing food stamp fraud, as contained in Counts III and IV of the Indictment returned against Barnes, provides that whoever knowingly uses, transfers, acquires, alters, or possesses coupons or authorization cards in any manner not authorized by [the statute] or the regulations is subject to a fine and imprisonment. 7 U.S.C. § 2024(b)(1) (emphasis added). 4 An unauthorized manner of transferring or acquiring food stamp coupons within the meaning of the statute is one wherein such coupons are not used to purchase food in retail food stores ... at prices prevailing in such stores. 7 U.S.C. § 2016(b). On appeal, Barnes does not question whether the actus reus component of § 2024(b)(1) is presently satisfied; it is beyond dispute that his employees transfer[red or] acquire[d] ... coupons in [a] manner not authorized by [the statute] or regulations. Rather, he submits that the only evidence which the Government presented with regard to its charges in Counts III and IV--the vast discrepancy between actual food stamp redemptions and gross sales figures--was insufficient to establish his mens rea of knowledge as required by 7 U.S.C. § 2024(b)(1). 5 In doing so, he characterizes the inference drawn between such evidence and his state of mind as an unwarranted leap of faith in the Government's case. 11 In challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support [a] conviction, [Barnes] bears a heavy burden. United States v. Hill, 40 F.3d 164, 166 (7th Cir.1994), cert. denied, 514 U.S. 1029, 115 S.Ct. 1385, 131 L.Ed.2d 238 (1995). Indeed, as this court has reiterated time and again, [w]hen reviewing challenges to sufficiency of evidence supporting a conviction we consider the evidence at trial in the light most favorable to the government; if we conclude that any rational trier of fact could have found that the essential elements of the crime were proven beyond a reasonable doubt, we will reject the defendant's sufficiency challenge. United States v. Hatchett, 31 F.3d 1411, 1416 (7th Cir.1994) (citations and quotations omitted). This deferential standard looms as a difficult obstacle for Barnes to overcome. United States v. Alcantar, 83 F.3d 185, 189 (7th Cir.1996). 12 At trial, the Government carried, and a jury deemed it to have satisfied, the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Barnes knowingly acquired and redeemed food stamps having a value of more than $100.00, in a manner not authorized by statute or regulation. 7 U.S.C. § 2024(b) (1993); see Liparota v. United States, 471 U.S. 419, 422, 105 S.Ct. 2084, 2086, 85 L.Ed.2d 434 (1985); United States v. Abdelkoui, 19 F.3d 1178 (7th Cir.1994). As explained above, Barnes primarily asserts that the government presented insufficient evidence to establish that he possessed the requisite mens rea to have committed food stamp fraud, and therefore, the district court improperly denied his Motion of Acquittal on Counts III and IV. In considering his argument, we are mindful that the Government does not bear an unduly heavy burden when prosecuting alleged violators of § 2024(b)(1). Liparota, 471 U.S. at 434, 105 S.Ct. at 2092. It need not introduce any extraordinary evidence that would conclusively demonstrate Barnes' state of mind. Id. Rather, as in any other criminal prosecution requiring mens rea, the Government may prove by reference to the facts and circumstances surrounding the case that [Barnes] knew his conduct was unauthorized or illegal. Id. (emphasis added). 13 We are of the opinion that when considering the totality of all the facts and circumstances surrounding this case, we are only left to conclude that Barnes knew his employees at Family Market and Barnes Grocery were acquiring food stamps illegally, and as such, it was not improper for the district court to have denied his Motion of Acquittal. On four different occasions, various Family Market and Barnes Grocery employees exchanged cash for food stamps with undercover agents. Barnes' own brother, Philip, explained to a D.O.A. agent that Barnes had instructed him, as well as his co-employees, to purchase food stamps at a rate of $0.67 on the dollar. Tellingly, on October 27, 1993, and November 1, 1993, Barnes had personally exchanged cash for food stamps with undercover D.O.A. agents at a rate of exactly sixty-seven percent. Barnes also personally signed all food stamp redemption certificates submitted to his local bank on behalf of Barnes Grocery and Family Market, kept a ledger of transactions for accounting purposes, and knew that a $652,706.00 discrepancy existed between food stamp redemptions and gross sales during 1992. Moreover, he had read and understood the Food Stamp Program's regulations prohibiting, among other things, trading cash for food stamps, as well as trained his employees about how the Program worked. In short, every bit of factual and circumstantial evidence in this case suggests that Barnes knew his employees were exchanging food stamp coupons for cash. Virtually all that lacks is Barnes' admission of his knowledge. And it would be a fruitless exercise to debate the otherwise outlandish proposition that a defendant's admission is necessary to obtain a conviction in cases of this sort. Insofar as it was unnecessary to have introduced extraordinary evidence conclusively demonstrating Barnes' state of mind, Liparota, 471 U.S. at 434, 105 S.Ct. at 2092, the leap of faith that Barnes suggests the Government was forced to make between the facts of this case and the inferences drawn from those facts is not a broad one. We are convinced that any rational trier of fact, faced with the abundance of direct and circumstantial evidence in this case, would conclude that Barnes did, in fact, have the requisite mens rea to commit food stamp fraud.