Opinion ID: 555459
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence to Convict Gregory Ayers of Conspiracy

Text: 73 Gregory Ayers contends that his conviction for conspiracy to defraud the United States in the collection of income taxes must be reversed because there was insufficient evidence that he conspired with any other person. 74 To prove a conspiracy, the government must show (1) an agreement (2) to engage in criminal activity and (3) one or more overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy. United States v. Hernandez, 876 F.2d 774, 777 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 179, 107 L.Ed.2d 135 (1989). Not only must the government prove knowledge of the illegal objective, it must also prove an agreement with a co-conspirator to pursue that objective as a common one. United States v. Krasovich, 819 F.2d 253, 255 (9th Cir.1987). However, we do not require that an agreement be proven by direct evidence, but instead we have stated that [i]t is well established that a conspiracy may be proved by circumstantial evidence and that to 'constitute an unlawful conspiracy no formal agreement is necessary'.... An agreement constituting a conspiracy may be inferred from acts of the parties. United States v. Camacho, 528 F.2d 464, 469 (9th Cir.) (citations omitted), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 995, 96 S.Ct. 2208, 48 L.Ed.2d 819 (1976). 75 To determine whether the evidence was sufficient to support a criminal conviction, the proper inquiry is whether 'any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.'  United States v. Adler, 879 F.2d 491, 495 (9th Cir.1988) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2788-89, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). The evidence should be viewed in the light most favorable to the government. United States v. Feldman, 853 F.2d 648, 654 (9th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1030, 109 S.Ct. 1164, 103 L.Ed.2d 222 (1989). 76 Eddie and Gregory Ayers were charged in Count One with conspiracy with other persons known and unknown to defraud the United States in the collection of revenue in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371. The district court instructed the jury as follows: 77 In order to find any defendant guilty, you must all agree unanimously that the government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that both defendants agreed to the same one of the foregoing; further you must all unanimously agree that the government has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants agreed to the same means or method.... 78 Evidence of numerous cash transactions involving Eddie and Gregory Ayers was presented at trial. Cashiers checks purchased by Gregory Ayers and others in amounts less than $10,000 were admitted into evidence. Some of these checks were used to make up an $84,900 downpayment on a property purchased by Eddie, Gregory and Ella Ayers. Gregory Ayers purchased three of these cashiers checks for $9,000 each on January 20, 1983. Eddie Ayers purchased two of these cashiers checks for the same amount also on January 20, 1983. One of Gregory's checks was purchased from the same bank as one of Eddie's checks, and they were sequentially numbered. Other cashiers checks in denominations of less than $10,000 were used by Eddie Ayers to purchase a bar. 79 Other evidence showed that Gregory and Eddie Ayers formed a Bahamian corporation, Gregg Investments, Ltd. A copy of a cashiers check to the Bank of Montreal for $235,000 was presented as evidence. Rita Ayers, Gregory Ayers' sister, testified that she purchased numerous cashiers checks for amounts less than $10,000 for her father's use. At least one of these checks was made payable to Gregg Investments, Ltd. Gary Noble, a friend of Gregory Ayers, testified that he purchased a cashiers check for $9,000 at Gregory Ayers' request. That check was payable to Gregg Investments, Ltd. Other members of the Ayers family testified that they gave money to their father, Eddie Ayers, to invest for them. Eddie and Gregory Ayers' tax returns were presented as evidence to show that the reported income did not support the extent of these cash transactions. Based on the evidence of these cash transactions, a rational jury could infer that Gregory Ayers was involved in a conspiracy to conceal the source and nature of his and Eddie Ayers' income from the United States government in order to defraud the government in the collection of revenue. 80 Gregory Ayers contends that since the jury found him guilty of conspiracy, but failed to reach a unanimous verdict as to Eddie on the same charge, the jury did not follow the jury instruction given by the court. Gregory Ayers argues that the jury's inability to reach a unanimous verdict on the issue of Eddie Ayers' guilt for conspiracy demonstrates that there was insufficient evidence of an agreement to defraud the government. 81 This case does not involve inconsistent verdicts. But in any event, it is not required that verdicts be consistent even when a conviction is rationally incompatible with an acquittal. United States v. Brandon, 633 F.2d 773, 779 (9th Cir.1980). In United States v. Valles-Valencia, 823 F.2d 381 (9th Cir.1987), we expressed this principle in the following words: 82 As the Supreme Court noted in United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 105 S.Ct. 471, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984), however, inconsistent verdicts can just as easily be the result of jury lenity as a determination of the facts. 469 U.S. at 65, 105 S.Ct. at 477. Thus, the acquittal of all conspirators but one does not necessarily indicate that the jury found no agreement to act. 83 Id. at 381-82. 84 The jury's inability to reach a unanimous verdict could be the result of lenity on the part of one or more jurors rather than a failure to follow the court's instructions or a determination that the evidence was insufficient to establish a conspiracy. 85