Opinion ID: 792809
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of evidence and jury instruction on Count Two

Text: 167 The jury found Bacanovic guilty of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001, as charged in Count Two, by falsely stating, as alleged in Specification Two of that Count, that he had a conversation with Martha Stewart on December 27, 2001 in which he told Stewart that ImClone's stock price had dropped and Stewart told him to sell her ImClone stock. Bacanovic now advances two theories for reversal of his conviction under Count Two. 168 First, Bacanovic claims that the evidence supporting the conviction under Count Two was insufficient to establish materiality or intent, essential elements of section 1001 offenses. See 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a); United States v. Whab, 355 F.3d 155, 157-58, 162 (2d Cir.2004). In addressing a challenge to the sufficiency of evidence supporting a conviction, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, drawing permissible inferences in its favor, and will not set aside a conviction that rests on evidence that would convince a reasonable juror that the crime charged was proved beyond a reasonable doubt. See, e.g., United States v. Zhou, 428 F.3d 361, 369-70 (2d Cir.2005). 169 A false statement is material if it tends to or is capable of influencing the decision-making body to which it was addressed. See United States v. Gaudin, 515 U.S. 506, 509, 115 S.Ct. 2310, 132 L.Ed.2d 444 (1995); United States v. Klausner, 80 F.3d 55, 59 (2d Cir.1996). Bacanovic's statement was capable of distracting government investigators' attention away from Faneuil if they believed that the only parties to the December 27th call were Stewart and Bacanovic, and in that regard it may be considered material. Similarly without merit is Bacanovic's argument that the Government failed to prove that his false statement was intentional because (i) his use of pronouns was misunderstood, (ii) Faneuil informed them correctly that he was on the call with Stewart or (iii) Bacanovic later testified to that fact. We agree with the decisions from other circuits that have concluded that there is no safe harbor for recantation or correction of a prior false statement that violates section 1001. See United States v. Sebaggala, 256 F.3d 59, 64 (1st Cir.2001); United States v. Meuli, 8 F.3d 1481, 1486-87 (10th Cir.1993); United States v. Fern, 696 F.2d 1269, 1275 (11th Cir.1983). 170 Likewise, sufficient evidence of materiality and intentionality also existed for the jury to convict Bacanovic on the basis of concealment. The essential issue is whether Defendant knowingly and willingly falsified, concealed, or covered up information relevant to the investigation. United States v. Stephenson, 895 F.2d 867, 874 (2d Cir.1990). Defendant's legal duty to be truthful under section 1001 included a duty to disclose the information he had regarding the circumstances of Stewart's December 27th trade, even though he voluntarily agreed to speak with investigators. See id. Bacanovic's contention that there was insufficient evidence of the investigators' questions is without merit. Trial testimony indicated that the SEC had specifically inquired about Bacanovic's knowledge of Stewart's trades. As a result, it was plausible for the jury to conclude that the SEC's questioning had triggered Bacanovic's duty to disclose and that ample evidence existed that his concealment was material to the investigation. 171 Bacanovic also argues that the indictment was duplicitous and that the jury instruction was erroneous as to Count Two. Under section 1001, in the course of a government proceeding, it is a crime (1) to falsify, conceal or cover up a material fact, (2) to make a materially false statement, or (3) to make or use a document containing a materially false statement. See 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a). 172 The several different types of fraudulent conduct proscribed by section 1001 are not separate offenses, as Bacanovic suggests; rather they describe different means by which the statute is violated. See United States v. Crisci, 273 F.3d 235, 238-39 (2d Cir.2001) (no duplicity issue where indictment charges several means of committing a single crime); United States v. Murray, 618 F.2d 892, 896 (2d Cir.1980) (several offenses in one count is duplicitous, several means of committing an offense in a single count is not). The District Court did not err by failing to instruct the jurors that they must agree unanimously as to which theory of the offense — false statement or concealment — supported the verdict. See Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624, 631, 111 S.Ct. 2491, 115 L.Ed.2d 555 (1991) (where a single count alleges that the defendant committed a charged offense by one or more specified means, [w]e have never suggested that . . . the jurors should be required to agree upon a single means of commission, any more than the indictments were required to specify one alone) (plurality opinion). 173 United States v. Diogo, 320 F.2d 898 (2d Cir.1963), does not require a different conclusion. Despite the presence of language that might appear favorable to Bacanovic on this point, when this Court said in dictum that false representation and concealment are two distinct offenses, id. at 902, we were not addressing the issue of duplicitous pleading. Rather, this Court was discussing the differences between the proof necessary to establish each of the theories. See id. at 901-02. We noted that a conviction for false representation requires evidence of actual falsity, while concealment is proved by showing wilful nondisclosure by means of a `trick, scheme or device.' Id. at 902 (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 1001). In that case, defendants were charged with lying about their marital status to evade the immigration laws. Id. at 900. The Court agreed that, although the marriages may not have been entered in good faith, defendants' representation that they were married was literally true. Faced with a failure to prove any false statement, the Government urged the Court to affirm the convictions on a theory of concealment. Id. at 909. But the Court rejected the argument because the jury had not been instructed properly on the proof necessary to convict on the grounds that defendants' statements concealed material facts through the use of a trick, scheme or device. Id. Read in context, Diogo recognizes distinctions in the factual elements of a false statement theory and a concealment theory, but the case does not suggest that two separate counts — one charging false conduct and the other charging concealment — could be based on the same conduct. See United States v. UCO Oil Co., 546 F.2d 833, 835 n. 2 (9th Cir.1976) (discussing Diogo dictum and observing that it goes no further than to indicate that the different means of violating section 1001 involve different elements of proof).