Opinion ID: 756753
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence to support hall's convictions

Text: 10 Hall claims that there was insufficient evidence to support his wire fraud convictions. Because he made a motion for a judgment of acquittal at the close of the government's case and again at the close of all evidence, he preserved this issue for appeal. See United States v. Carpenter, 95 F.3d 773, 775 (9th Cir.1996), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1094, 137 L.Ed.2d 227 (1997). We review the sufficiency of the evidence by viewing it in the light most favorable to the prosecution and asking whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); see also Carpenter, 95 F.3d at 775. 11 The record of this case contains ample evidence from which a rational jury could find Hall guilty of wire fraud, which is established through the existence of a scheme to defraud and the use of interstate wires in furtherance of that scheme. See United States v. Hubbard, 96 F.3d 1223, 1227-28 (9th Cir.1996); United States v. Lothian, 976 F.2d 1257, 1262 (9th Cir.1992). The government presented overwhelming evidence that the Nortay telemarketers engaged in a scheme to defraud victims of other fraudulent telemarketing schemes, in many of which Nortay telemarketers had themselves been involved. In fact, Hall does not dispute that Nortay was a fraudulent telemarketing company. Rather, he argues that there is no evidence that he either participated in the wire fraud charged in the indictment, or aided others in perpetrating a fraud. We disagree. 12 The victim named in one of the counts of conviction told the jury that Hall called her and falsely promised to recover the money she had lost to other telemarketers if she sent Nortay a retainer fee. She sent in $500, but never got any money back from Nortay. She told the jury that the fact that Nortay promised a one hundred percent money-back guarantee was important in her decision to send the money, and that had she known that Nortay employees were all former telemarketers, she would have never sent them the money. 13 Hall did not personally call the victim named in the other count of conviction; she was contacted by another Nortay telemarketer. However, as a knowing participant in a scheme to defraud Nortay customers, Hall is liable for his co-schemers' use of the mails or wires. Lothian, 976 F.2d at 1263. And the evidence at trial clearly established that Hall knowingly participated in Nortay's fraudulent activity with intent to defraud Nortay's customers. His own lies were legion. 14 The jury heard the tape recordings of Hall's three telephone calls to Nortay's prospective victims in which he made numerous misrepresentations with the intent to gain the person's trust and to induce that person into retaining Nortay's services. In fact, Hall admitted to the FBI case agent that he had told various lies to Nortay's customers. He also admitted to the FBI that he laughed at Nortay's victims, and called them naive and stupid for not even checking up on Nortay before sending the money. That evidence was sufficient to support the jury's finding that Hall knowingly participated in Nortay's fraudulent scheme and should, therefore, be held responsible for fraud perpetrated by his co-schemers. See Lothian, 976 F.2d at 1263, 1267-68 (evidence that the telemarketer made extensive misrepresentations to customers concerning the company's operations was sufficient to support his conviction of wire fraud based on his own conduct and that of other telemarketers); see also United States v. Gray, 105 F.3d 956, 966-67 (5th Cir.1997) (evidence that the telemarketer engaged in active deception and was aware that the customers were not receiving the promised refunds was sufficient to support a fraud conviction), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1856, 137 L.Ed.2d 1057 (1997); United States v. Leonard, 61 F.3d 1181, 1187-88 (5th Cir.1995) (evidence supported the jury's finding that the defendants knowingly participated in the telemarketing scam based on various misrepresentations they made to the customers).