Opinion ID: 2716506
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence on count eight

Text: Ms. Ulloa’s final argument on appeal is that the district court erred in denying her motion for a judgment of acquittal on Count Eight pursuant to Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 29. Count Eight involved a tax return filed on behalf of George Melo, who testified that he met with “Magdelena” at Main Travel and gave her the names of dependent children he wanted to claim on his taxes. Because Mr. Melo never specifically identified Ms. Ulloa as the “Magdelena” he met with at Main Travel, Ms. Ulloa asserts that the Government did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she committed that fraud. The Government counters that Ms. Ulloa was undoubtedly “Magdelena” because that is her middle name. It also points out that the jury could infer that Mr. Melo did meet with Ms. Ulloa because he testified that he specifically went to -12- Ms. Ulloa’s business because he heard from others that she could falsify his tax return. In order to prove a tax fraud violation under 18 U.S.C § 287, the Government had to demonstrate that Ms. Ulloa knowingly made and presented false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims to the IRS. We consider an appeal from the denial of a Rule 29 motion de novo. See United States v. Santos-Rivera, 726 F.3d 17, 23 (1st Cir. 2013). Specifically, we examine the evidence, both direct and circumstantial, in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict. We do not assess the credibility of a witness, as that is a role reserved for the jury. Nor need we be convinced that the government succeeded in eliminating every possible theory consistent with the defendant's innocence. Rather, we must decide whether that evidence, including all plausible inferences drawn therefrom, would allow a rational factfinder to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the charged crime. United States v. Troy, 583 F.3d 20, 24 (1st Cir. 2009) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). The evidence in this case was overwhelming such that a rational jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Ulloa committed the fraud charged in Count Eight. Mr. Melo testified that he worked on his 2006 tax return together with Magdelena at her office at Main Travel. Magdelena is Ms. Ulloa’s middle name. The jury could reasonably have found that Ms. Ulloa was the person at Main Travel with whom Mr. Melo met and prepared false tax returns. This a reasonable conclusion since Mr. Melo -13- testified that he sought out Ms. Ulloa’s business upon the recommendation of others that Ms. Ulloa could falsify the child care and dependent information on his tax return. He repeatedly answered questions at trial that referenced his meetings and discussions with Ms. Ulloa about claiming deductions for dependent children who did not live with him. These two facts alone, in the context of this entire case, would be sufficient to ground an inference that Ms. Ulloa knowingly made fraudulent claims to the IRS on Mr. Melo’s behalf, but there is more. The evidence also established that Mr. Melo gave Ms. Ulloa the information she needed to complete the fraudulent forms, that she processed the return, and he received the money in the form of a refund anticipation loan from the bank. All of these facts are more than sufficient to support the jury’s verdict on Count Eight; Ms. Ulloa knowingly presented false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims to the IRS.