Opinion ID: 1470216
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Count Three and the Scienter Requirement

Text: At the time of Tureseo's appeal, our sister circuits were in disagreement as to the elements of the aggravated identity theft provision, 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1), which provides: Whoever, during and in relation to any felony violation enumerated in subsection (c), knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such felony, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 2 years. 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) (emphasis supplied). Specifically, the circuits were divided as to whether the mens rea of knowingly modifies only the verbs transfers, possesses, or uses or also modifies the prepositional phrase of another person, even though that phrase comes after the adverb phrase without lawful authority, the indirect object a means, and the prepositional phrase of identification. Compare United States v. Mendoza-Gonzalez, 520 F.3d 912, 915 (8th Cir.2008) (holding that the knowingly mens rea does not modify of another person); United States v. Hurtado, 508 F.3d 603, 608-09 (11th Cir.2007) (same); United States v. Montejo, 442 F.3d 213, 215 (4th Cir.2006) (same), with United States v. Godin, 534 F.3d 51, 61 (1st Cir.2008) (holding that the knowingly mens rea modifies of another person); United States v. Miranda-Lopez, 532 F.3d 1034, 1040 (9th Cir.2008) (same); United States v. Villanueva-Sotelo, 515 F.3d 1234, 1246 (D.C.Cir.2008) (same). The Supreme Court resolved the circuit split in Flores-Figueroa v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1886, ___ L.Ed.2d ___ (2009), where the Court held that the aggravated identity theft provision of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) requires the Government to show that the defendant knew that the means of identification at issue belonged to another person. Id. at 1887. Accordingly, we are constrained to identify error in the District Court's refusal to instruct the jury that an aggravated identity theft conviction requires a finding that Tureseo knew that the means of identity he used to falsely claim United States citizenship belonged to another person, i.e., an actual person. See id. at 1887 (concluding that the aggravated identity theft provision was intended to provide an enhanced sentence to those who knew the identity they were unlawfully using was of a real person). We note that the learned District Court did not have the benefit of the Supreme Court's holding in Flores-Figueroa or any guidance from this Court when it charged the jury in this case. We further conclude that the District Court's error was not harmless. Because a jury instruction that omits an essential element of the offense is constitutional error, a conviction can only stand if such error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See DiGuglielmo v. Smith, 366 F.3d 130, 136 (2d Cir.2004) (citing Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1, 8-10, 119 S.Ct. 1827, 144 L.Ed.2d 35 (1999)). The government asserts that Tureseo was not simply using a Social Security number or an A-Number.... Instead, he was using someone else's name, date of birth, biographical information and birth certificate, and thus argues that this evidence was sufficient for any reasonable jury to conclude that Tureseo, by assuming an alternate identity, knew that he was using the identity of an actual person. Although there appears to be substantial evidence for the jury to conclude that Tureseo knew that Ortega was an actual person at the time he used Ortega's birth certificate to falsely claim United States citizenship, the evidence does not all flow in one direction. For example, the jury was also presented with Ortega's testimony that he had never met or seen Tureseo before the trial, thus suggesting that Tureseo did not know of Ortega's existence at all. Therefore, we cannot conclude that the District Court's improper jury instructions were harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, and the District Court's judgment of conviction with regard to aggravated identity theft cannot stand.