Opinion ID: 3020406
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Was the evidence produced by the Government at

Text: trial sufficient to prove that Flores was willfully blind to the money laundering scheme? We review the grant or denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal de novo, applying the same standard as the District Court. United States v. Brodie, 403 F.3d 123, 133 (3d Cir. 2005). We must “sustain the verdict if there is substantial evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the government, to uphold the jury’s decision.” United States v. Gambone, 314 F.3d 163, 169-70 (3d Cir. 2003). As we have made clear, a court “must be ever vigilant in the context of Fed. R. Crim. P. 29 not to usurp the role of the jury by weighing credibility and assigning weight to the evidence, or by substituting its judgment for that of the jury.” Brodie, 403 F.3d at 133; see also United States v. Jannotti, 673 F.2d 578, 581 (3d Cir. 1982) (en banc) (trial court usurped jury function by deciding contested issues of fact). Flores argues that the Government failed to prove 8 beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew or was willfully blind to the fact that the money laundered by Altamirano either “represent[ed] the proceeds of some form of illegal activity,” 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1), or was “criminally derived property,” 18 U.S.C. § 1957(a). According to Flores, “[t]he only form of unlawful activity identified at trial was drug trafficking. Yet the evidence the Government presented was wholly insufficient to establish [his] knowledge of, or willful blindness to, the fact that the funds originated in drug trafficking or any other crime.” To prove conspiracy to commit money laundering, the Government was required to show, inter alia, that Flores consorted with others in a money laundering scheme, knowing that the property involved in a financial transaction represent[ed] the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity [and] conduct[ed] or attempt[ed] to conduct such a financial transaction which in fact involves the proceeds of specified unlawful activity. 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1). It is undisputed that the financial transactions Flores conducted on behalf of Altamirano “in fact involve[d] the proceeds of specified unlawful activity,” to wit, narcotics trafficking. Thus, the only question is whether the Government produced evidence that Flores knew of or was willfully blind to the fact that the funds originated in some form of unlawful activity, sufficient to obtain a conviction under § 9 1956(h). See 18 U.S.C. § 1956(c)(1) (stating that it is sufficient if “the person knew the property involved in the transaction represented proceeds from some form, though not necessarily which form, of activity that constitutes a felony under State, Federal, or foreign law”) (emphasis added). Accordingly, the defense’s argument that the Government needed to prove that Flores knew of, or was willfully blind to, the fact that the funds originated in drug trafficking is off point. To prove money laundering, the Government was required to show that Flores, knowingly engage[d] or attempt[ed] to engage in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000 and is derived from specified unlawful activity. 18 U.S.C. § 1957(a). Again, because the monetary transactions that Flores conducted on behalf of Altamirano were “derived from specified unlawful activity,” the only question is whether the Government produced sufficient evidence that Flores knew that the monetary transactions represented the proceeds of criminally derived property. For the same reasons provided above, the defense’s argument—that the Government needed to prove that Flores knew of, or was willfully blind to, the fact that the funds originated in drug trafficking to obtain a money laundering conviction—fails. See 18 U.S.C. § 1957(c) (“[T]he Government is not required to prove that the defendant knew 10 that the offense from which the criminally derived property was derived was specified unlawful activity.”). Our remaining task is to determine whether there is substantial evidence in the record, viewed in the light most favorable to the Government, that Flores knew that the property involved in the financial transactions represented the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity and/or criminally derived property. Knowledge may be demonstrated by showing that a defendant either had actual knowledge or “deliberately closed his eyes to what otherwise would have been obvious to him concerning the fact in question.” United States v. Stewart, 185 F.3d 112, 126 (3d Cir. 1999). The Government establishes willful blindness by proving that a defendant “was objectively aware of the high probability of the fact in question,” Brodie, 403 F.3d at 148 (citation omitted), and “could have recognized the likelihood of [illicit acts] yet deliberately avoided learning the true facts.” Stewart, 185 F.3d at 126. Here, the jury reasonably concluded that Flores participated in the money laundering conspiracy either knowingly or with willful blindness. The following record evidence, inter alia, created in Flores objective awareness of the high probability that Altamirano was involved in money laundering: (1) one of Flores’ initial interactions with Altamirano involved the supply of two false social security numbers; (2) as soon as Flores opened multiple bank accounts for the corporations, large amounts of cash began flowing in 11 and out of the accounts, despite the fact that the corporations had just opened for business and had no physical location other than Flores’ own offices; (3) Flores received a letter from the Republic National Bank explaining what “structured” transactions are and why they are illegal, and informing him that “when an account receives a large incoming wire and immediately sends an outgoing wire or wires for approximately the same amount, without apparent commercial justification, it mirrors the activity of an account opened by money launderers”; (4) the manager of Republic National Bank disbelieved Altamirano’s explanation concerning his numerous accounts and financial transactions and told Altamirano and Flores that the accounts were “evidently” being used for “money laundering”; (5) Flores’ accountant, Rivera, testified that he had sought invoices documenting the source of the funds but never received the documentation he requested; and (6) Rivera also questioned Flores about why the funds were being sent to foreign companies with no apparent relationship to the Ecuadorian fruit, fish or flower trade. In response to the substantial evidence that Altamirano was involved in some sort of illegal activity, Flores willfully blinded himself to the truth. He never requested any proof of the legitimacy of the transactions from Altamirano or even any further explanation addressing either the bank manager’s or accountant’s concerns. That Flores “did not ask the natural follow-up question[s] to determine the source of those funds could reasonably be considered by a jury to be evidence of 12 willful blindness.” United States v. Wert-Ruiz, 228 F.3d 250, 257 (3d Cir. 2000). Indeed, when faced with the above-detailed evidence, instead of making obvious inquiries, Flores engaged in additional money laundering transactions. For example, he continued to sign checks and wire transfers and to receive account statements documenting the flow of over $1,200,000 through the accounts. Moreover, Flores dissuaded Altamirano from discontinuing suspicious financial transactions after the meeting with Republic National, and instead opened accounts at other banks, stating that he needed the $2,000 per week he was being paid in cash to oversee the bank accounts. Thus, the jury could have inferred that Flores was motivated to avoid learning the truth because the money laundering operation was profitable to him. See Brodie, 403 F.3d at 158. In sum, the jury’s verdict reflects that it reasonably concluded, based on the evidence before it, that Flores was willfully blind to the illegal source and disposition of the funds in the accounts of the corporations he formed. “This is not to say that [Flores] did not proffer alternative explanations, but the verdict indicates that the jury did not credit them. Because [substantial] evidence supports that verdict, we [should] not second guess that decision.” Wert-Ruiz, 228 F.3d at 258. B. Did the District Court properly instruct the jury on the law of willful blindness? We generally exercise plenary review in determinating 13 “whether the jury instructions stated the proper legal standard,” and review the refusal to give a particular instruction or the wording of instructions for abuse of discretion. United States v. Khorozian, 333 F.3d 498, 507-08 (3d Cir. 2001) (internal quotation omitted). Here, however, Flores failed to raise his objection to the willful blindness instruction at trial. As a result, his claim can be reviewed only for plain error. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 30 (providing that “[n]o party may assign as error any portion of the charge or omission therefrom unless he objects thereto before the jury retires to consider its verdict, stating distinctly the matter to which he objects and the grounds of his objection”); Gov’t of the Virgin Islands v. Knight, 989 F.2d 619, 631 (3d Cir. 1993) (without a “clearly articulated objection,” “a trial judge is not appraised sufficiently of the contested issue and the need to cure a potential error to avoid a new trial”). Under the plain error standard, before an appellate court can correct an error not raised at trial, it must find: (1) an error; (2) that is plain; and (3) that affected substantial rights. United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 733-35 (1993); United States v. Davis, 407 F.3d 162, 164 (3d Cir. 2005) (en banc); United States v. Syme, 276 F.3d 131, 143 n.4 (3d Cir. 2002). If all three conditions are met, we may in our discretion grant relief, but only if “‘the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of [the] judicial proceedings.’” United States v. Haywood, 363 F.3d 200, 206-07 (3d Cir. 2004) (quoting Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461, 467 (1997)). 14 Flores argues that the District Court’s willful blindness instruction erroneously (1) failed to require a jury finding that he was willfully blind to the specific money laundering and structuring activity charged in the indictment, as opposed to some other uncharged or unspecified “illegal activity” (or “something amiss”), and (2) shifted the burden to him of proving that he “actually believed” that Altamirano was not engaged in any money laundering or structuring activity when, as a matter of due process, it was the Government’s burden to disprove that contingency beyond a reasonable doubt. In response, the Government submits that the language stating that Flores needed to know that “illegal activity was going on,” or that “something was amiss,” is standard language of a willful blindness charge and, in any event, “there was no other illegal activity in which Flores was accused of participating” besides money laundering and structuring currency transactions. The Government further maintains that the fact that the District Court substituted “if the defendant shows” for “if the evidence shows” in its oral charge did not affect the jury’s deliberations because the written jury instruction, read by the jurors and used by them in their deliberations, includes the correct language and the instruction made clear, both in general and with respect to willful blindness, that the Government bore the burden of proof. The Government’s arguments are persuasive. “Jury instructions must be read as a whole,” and the jury in this case was specifically charged to do just that. E.E.O.C. v. Del. Dept. of Health and Soc. Servs., 865 F.2d 1408, 1418 (3d Cir. 1989). 15 It is uncontested that the jury was properly charged as to all of the essential elements of the money laundering and currency structuring counts. Those counts required the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt the elements that the defendant “knowingly” committed or conspired to commit money laundering and currency structuring. Moreover, the District Court repeatedly and expressly referred to money laundering and money structuring within the willful blindness instruction. Considered with the totality of the relevant instructions, the Court’s instruction only permitted a finding of Flores’ guilty knowledge if that finding was based on his willful blindness that he was engaged in money laundering and structuring, and not some other illegal activity. The instruction also makes clear that the only purpose of applying willful blindness to a fact is if the Government had a “burden of proving the element of knowledge of that fact.”2 2 The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected a similar claim to the one presented here, also raised in the context of a prosecution for money laundering based on a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956. The Court there explained that, given the instructions as a whole, particularly the court’s instructions on the elements of the crime, the fact that the court did not define the “specified unlawful activity” in the willful blindness instruction did not constitute plain error. United States v. Starke, 62 F.3d 1374, 1381 (11th Cir. 1995). The same reasoning applies here, given the District Court’s overall instruction and its specific instruction on the elements of the offense. 16 As indicated at the beginning of this section, Flores further contends that the District Court’s instruction on willful blindness impermissibly shifted the burden to him of “show[ing]” that he “actually believed” that Altamirano was not engaged (or that Flores “positively did not know” he was involving himself) in money laundering or structuring activity. Although the District Court properly stated the burden of proof in its written jury instruction, it orally charged the jury as follows: If the defendant shows you that he actually believed that money laundering was not taking place, he cannot be convicted. . . . However, a defendant’s knowledge of a fact may be inferred from willful blindness to the existence of facts which indicate that there is a high probability that illegal activity is going on.