Opinion ID: 2812339
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: gonzalez’s convictions

Text: In this appeal, only Gonzalez challenges her convictions on sufficiency of the evidence grounds.
12 Case: 14-11817 Date Filed: 06/26/2015 Page: 13 of 27 We review “the sufficiency of the evidence de novo, viewing all the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and drawing all reasonable inferences and credibility choices in favor of the jury’s verdict.” United States v. Sterling, 738 F.3d 228, 234 (11th Cir. 2013), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 2682 (2014) (quotation marks omitted). “Accordingly, the evidence will be sufficient to support a conviction if a reasonable trier of fact could find that the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Jiminez, 564 F.3d 1280, 1284-85 (11th Cir. 2009) (quotation marks omitted).
We review the elements that the government must prove to sustain Gonzalez’s convictions. To sustain a conviction for conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, under 18 U.S.C. § 286, the government must prove “the existence of an agreement to achieve an unlawful objective, the defendant’s knowing and voluntary participation in the conspiracy, and the commission of an overt act in furtherance of it.” United States v. Gupta, 463 F.3d 1182, 1194 (11th Cir. 2006) (quotation marks omitted). The unlawful objective of a § 286 conspiracy is to defraud the federal government “by obtaining or aiding to obtain the payment or allowance of any false, fictitious or fraudulent claim.” 18 U.S.C. § 286. 13 Case: 14-11817 Date Filed: 06/26/2015 Page: 14 of 27 To convict a defendant under 18 U.S.C. § 641 of theft of public government, the government must prove that (1) the money or property belonged to the government; (2) the defendant fraudulently appropriated the money or property to his own use or the use of others; and (3) the defendant did so knowingly and willfully with the intent either temporarily or permanently to deprive the owner of the use of the money or property. United States v. McRee, 7 F.3d 976, 980 (11th Cir. 1993) (en banc). To prove aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1), the evidence must show that the defendant: (1) knowingly transferred, possessed, or used; (2) a means of identification of another person; (3) without lawful authority; (4) during and in relation to a felony enumerated in 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(c). See 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1); United States v. Barrington, 648 F.3d 1178, 1192 (11th Cir. 2011). Theft of government money, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641, is one of the offenses listed in § 1028A(c). 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(c)(1). “[T]he term ‘means of identification’ means any name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific individual.” Id. § 1028(d)(7). This includes any name, social security number, or date of birth. Id. § 1028(d)(7)(A).
14 Case: 14-11817 Date Filed: 06/26/2015 Page: 15 of 27 Here, the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support Gonzalez’s convictions for conspiracy to defraud the government, theft of public money, and aggravated identity theft. Specifically, the government presented evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that: (1) Gonzalez ran Luxury Tax along with her co-defendant Alcime; (2) as part of Luxury Tax’s business for the 2010 tax year, Gonzalez submitted 298 tax returns using her PTIN, including returns for Kidd and Cramer, and Alcime submitted 92 tax returns using her PTIN, including returns for Abreu, Whyte, and Morea; 2 (3) the resulting IRS refunds were paid into Luxury Tax’s bank accounts controlled exclusively by Gonzalez and Alcime; and (4) none of the refund money was sent to the taxpayers listed on the returns, but instead was used by Gonzalez and Alcime for their own personal expenses. As to all three types of offenses, the jury was permitted to infer that Gonzalez prepared the returns, or knew and intended them to be prepared, from the use of her PTIN and her receiving and using the proceeds. Moreover, the testimony of Kidd, Cramer, Abreu, Whyte, and Morea that they never authorized or dealt with Gonzalez or her company, together with Gonzalez’s use of her PTIN and her taking substantial proceeds of that fraud, was sufficient to allow the jury to infer that Gonzalez knowingly transferred their identifying information and 2 The PSI refers to Gonzalez having filed 621 fraudulent tax returns. Some of the returns were for Luxury Tax and others were for another tax preparation business, Tax Time. The charges and the trial evidence concerned only the Defendants’ activities at Luxury Tax. 15 Case: 14-11817 Date Filed: 06/26/2015 Page: 16 of 27 intended to defraud the IRS. Accordingly, we affirm Gonzalez’s convictions for conspiracy to defraud the government, theft of public money, and aggravated identity theft. 3