Opinion ID: 199159
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Defective indictment (Otis)

Text: 94 Otis was convicted only on the conspiracy charge, set forth in Count II of the superseding indictment. She now contends that Count II failed to adequately inform her of which paragraph of 18 U.S.C. 152 was charged. Because she did not challenge the sufficiency of the indictment below, we review for plain error only. See United States v. Murphy, 762 F.2d 1151, 1155 (1st Cir. 1985); Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b). 95 Count II charges that Otis, Golenbock and Stein 96 did knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully conspire and agree among themselves to commit the following offense against the United States: 97 to knowingly and fraudulently conceal from creditors and the trustee in bankruptcy proceedings under Title 11 of the United States Code (the bankruptcy laws), captioned In re: Wendy B. Golenbock, case number 90-41635-JFQ and In re: Cheryl B. Stein, case number 90-41638-JFQ, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, property belonging to the estates of the debtors WENDY B. GOLENBOCK and CHERYL B. STEIN, to wit, their beneficial interest in the real property located on Bond Street in Wellfleet, Massachusetts (also at times referred to as South Wellfleet), also identified at times as being on Old Wharf Road or Paine Avenue or lots 63 and 80, and their agreement with SUSAN OTIS, aka SUSAN ALEKMAN concerning her holding that real property in trust for the benefit of WENDY B. GOLENBOCK and CHERYL B. STEIN, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code Sections 152 and 2. 98 (Emphasis added.) 99 Otis argues that in Count II, the statement all in violation of 18 U.S.C. 152 and 18 U.S.C. 2 was not clear enough to notify her of what crimes she was alleged to have committed. An indictment is sufficient if the offense is described with sufficient clarity to show a violation of law, and enables the accused to know the nature and cause of the accusation against him and to plead an acquittal or conviction in bar of future prosecution for the same offense. United States v. Fusaro, 708 F.2d 17, 23 (1st Cir. 1983) (citing Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87 (1974)). Generally, an indictment passes muster if it sets forth the offense in the words of the statute, including all the elements of the offense. See United States v. Penagaricano-Soler, 911 F.2d 833, 839 (1st Cir. 1990). 100 18 U.S.C. 152 (App. 1994), the version of the statute under which defendants were charged, describes several forms of criminal conduct in the bankruptcy context, including concealment of assets, false oaths and claims, and bribery. 10 Otis was charged with a violation of the first provision (now the first paragraph) of 152, prohibiting concealment of assets, which sets forth in relevant part: 101 Whoever knowingly and fraudulently conceals from the receiver, custodian, trustee, marshal, or other officer of the court charged with the control or custody of property, or from creditors in any bankruptcy proceeding, any property belonging to the estate of a bankrupt; . . . Shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. 102 Count II of the superseding indictment tracks the above-cited paragraph with sufficient clarity to place Otis on notice of the elements of the charged offense. See United States v. Grant, 971 F.2d 799, 802 (1st Cir. 1992) (elements of bankruptcy concealment are knowing concealment of property of one's bankruptcy estate from the bankruptcy trustee, with specific intent to defraud creditors). Count II sets forth the time and place of offense, identifies the relevant bankruptcy proceedings at issue, the property alleged to have been concealed, and the persons from whom it was concealed. See United States v. Arge, 418 F.2d 721, 724 (10th Cir. 1969) (an indictment for bankruptcy concealment must allege time and place, knowing and fraudulent intent, a description of the property concealed, the persons from whom it was concealed, and that it was property of the bankrupt estate). Moreover, the indictment identifies the intent: that Otis knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully conspired to commit the offense, and that she knowingly and fraudulently concealed the property. See id. Hence, we conclude that the charging language in Count II adequately set forth both the language and elements of the first paragraph of 18 U.S.C. 152 and informed Otis of the relevant offense. 103 Otis also contends that the indictment was defective because it cited to 18 U.S.C. 2 without setting forth its specific language. 11 Charges under 2 need not be specifically referenced in an indictment, however. See United States v. Footman, 215 F.3d 145, 153-54 (1st Cir. 2000); United States v. Andrade, 135 F.3d 104, 110 (1st Cir. 1998). Hence, there is no error, plain or otherwise, in the omission of the specific language of 2, and we affirm Otis's conviction on the indictment. 104 Affirmed.