Opinion ID: 178467
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Factual Background and Case History

Text: In 2009, Bazemore pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was sentenced to imprisonment, supervised release, and restitution of over $15 million. This set of facts has been the subject of several appeals by Bazemore, including this one. In Case No. 10-10189, he appealed the district court’s grant of a motion to sell property to collect the restitution, and in Case No. 10-10301, he appealed the district court’s denial of his motion to stay the restitution order pending his action challenging the underlying conviction under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Those two actions were consolidated and dismissed as frivolous. United States v. Bazemore, Nos. 10-10189 & 10-10301 (5th Cir. Sept. 17, 2010). His petition for writ of mandamus to direct the district judge to recuse himself was denied in yet another appeal. In re Bazemore, No. 10-10580 (5th Cir. Aug. 31, 2010). In Bazemore’s § 2255 action, he filed a motion for summary judgment which was denied. His appeal of that ruling was dismissed for want of jurisdiction by this court. United States v. Bazemore, No. 10-10762 (5th Cir. Oct. 6, 2010). His petition for writ of mandamus regarding the district court’s alleged failure to rule timely on his § 2255 application remains pending in this court under Case No. 10-11020.1 The current case stems from the Government’s further efforts to collect the restitution order in the form of filing a garnishment action with respect to an annuity issued by Principal Life Insurance Company (“Principal Life”) and which Bazemore contends is the separate property of his wife, Angelee Bazemore (“Angelee”), who intervened in the district court. Neither Angelee nor Principal 1 Bazemore also sued an FBI agent alleging wrongful seizure. That case was dismissed as frivolous, Bazemore v. Abbott, No. 3:10-CV-01444 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 29, 2010) and the appeal of that dismissal is pending under No. 10-11032. A prior case against the same FBI agent and others was also dismissed, Bazemore v. Junker, No. 3:10-CV-00720 (N.D. Tex. June 15, 2010), and the appeal was dismissed for want of prosecution. Bazemore v. Junker, No. 10-10480 (5th Cir. Aug. 13, 2010). 2 Case: 10-10685 Document: 00511280279 Page: 3 Date Filed: 11/01/2010 No. 10-10685 Life is a party to this appeal. In the district court, the Government contends that the annuity policy is community property of Bazemore and Angelee, while they contend it is separate property. The district court has not issued a ruling on this matter, however, because it stayed the garnishment case as a result of the pendency of a criminal investigation of a separate fraud from that which gave rise to the restitution order. It is this stay order from which Bazemore appeals.