Opinion ID: 3026413
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Hawkins’s Perjury Convictions

Text: Hawkins next challenges the sufficiency of the evidence undergirding his three perjury convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 1623, which prohibits “knowingly mak[ing] any false material declaration” under oath before a grand jury. For each perjury conviction, Hawkins contends that the government failed to prove that his relevant testimony before the grand jury was 56 untrue. We will uphold the verdict if a reasonable jury could have found the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Dent, 149 F.3d at 187. The government may prove guilt “via circumstantial evidence.” United States v. Serafini, 233 F.3d 758, 770 (3d Cir. 2000); see also 18 U.S.C. § 1623(e) (“Proof beyond a reasonable doubt under this section is sufficient for conviction. It shall not be necessary that such proof be made by any particular number of witnesses or by documentary or other type of evidence.”); United States v. Smith, 538 F.2d 159, 163 (7th Cir. 1976) (“Although no direct evidence of perjury was produced, none was required.”). We first reject Hawkins’s argument that the government presented insufficient evidence to prove the falsity of his testimony that he provided the first $5,000 check to Kemp as a wedding present on White’s instructions. As the government argued, the story that Hawkins presented is unlikely on its face: it is difficult to understand why Hawkins would agree to give a $5,000 wedding gift to someone he barely knew. Further, the government presented evidence that Kemp had already been married for 20 months by the time that Hawkins wrote this check. While it is true, as Hawkins responds, that that could mean only that White lied to Hawkins, it nevertheless places Hawkins’s account in further doubt. Additionally, and vitally, the government demonstrated that Hawkins testified falsely about the details surrounding this payment. According to Hawkins’s grand jury testimony, White and Kemp were in Detroit for Kemp’s bachelor party, and during that trip, dropped by Hawkins’s office. While there, Hawkins testified, White asked Hawkins to give Kemp a check as a wedding present. However, the government showed that Kemp was not actually in Detroit at the time. This contradiction could have allowed the jury to draw two inferences. First, the jury could have concluded that Hawkins lied when he said that Kemp’s bachelor party was occurring, which makes the wedding present explanation less plausible. Second, if Kemp was not in Detroit at all, it would be extremely unlikely that White would request a wedding present for him. Moreover, while Hawkins testified that the check was never cashed, it was. We conclude that this series of contradictions and implausibilities are sufficient to sustain the jury’s verdict on this count. 57 We are similarly unpersuaded by Hawkins’s argument that the government failed to prove the falsity of his grand jury testimony in which he stated that he supplied the second $5,000 check to White intending for White to convey it to a coalition of African-American newspapers. Most damaging to Hawkins’s testimony is the fact that after this check bounced twice, Hawkins wired the $5,000 directly to Kemp’s bank account. This is powerful evidence that Hawkins intended for the $5,000 to reach Kemp – not a newspaper association. While this fact alone is sufficient to sustain the conviction, we also note that the details that Hawkins provided further undermine the veracity of the story. For instance, the government demonstrated that Hawkins had met with the group two years before writing the check, making his sudden beneficence unusual. Thus, we will affirm the jury’s verdict on this count. We also make short shrift of Hawkins’s claim that the government proffered insufficient evidence to prove the falsity of his testimony regarding his meeting with Khan, in which he stated that he had not specifically asked White to bring Kemp to the meeting, although he had asked, on behalf of Khan, for the attendance of someone who could discuss property opportunities in Philadelphia. Hawkins’s testimony is flatly contradicted by the recorded telephone conversation in which Hawkins specifically asked White to bring “Corey” to the meeting in order to “keep [Khan] in the hole” by convincing Khan that Hawkins was “gonna be gettin’ 20 million.” Moreover, Khan testified that he never intended to enter the Philadelphia market and did not ask Hawkins to introduce him to anyone. This evidence was plainly sufficient to permit the jury to conclude that Hawkins’s grand jury testimony was false on this matter.