Opinion ID: 2974343
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: KC-135 Housing Assemblies

Text: Counts 2, 3, 6, and 7 of the indictment charge that Mr. Oh committed wire fraud and made false representations with regard to a contract that Mr. Oh had with Western Pacific Enterprises (“WPE”), another Government contractor, to manufacture the aircraft “housing assemblies” for the Air Force’s KC-135 Stratotanker fueling plane. In November 2002, the Government awarded WPE a defense contract to provide housing assemblies for the KC-135 aircraft. The contract specified that a casting was to undergo fluorescent penetrate testing and x-ray testing. The Government alleged that Mr. Oh misrepresented to WPE that the requisite testing had been performed and that he falsified the certification documents in an attempt to prove it. At trial, WPE president, David Capulopo, testified that the parts he received on March 12, 2003, were not stamped and could not have been inspected. Capulopo testified that on March 21, 2003, Mr. Oh had faxed him certifications which indicated that the parts had been tested on March 10, 2003. Christian Scheel, an inspector with the Advanced Quality Group whose signature appeared on the certification, testified that he had not performed the testing on March 10, but had done so on March 20. Scheel testified that Mr. Oh admitted to him that he had forged and falsified the certification. The Government also produced evidence that Mr. Oh had provided a report purporting to be from U.S. Inspection Services, indicating that testing had been performed on 15 parts. A U.S. Inspection Services employee testified that the company had no record of ever completing such a report, and the Government contended that Mr. Oh forged the report. 10 Prior to trial, Mr. Oh sought to plead guilty to the counts involving the housing assembly contracts, Counts 2, 3, 6, and 7, maintaining that his intention had not been to defraud WPE or the Government, but to prevent WPE from learning the identity of Oh’s supplier. The district court rejected the plea because Mr. Oh would not admit to all of the elements of the offenses charged in those counts, and Mr. Oh proceeded to trial. He was found guilty on Counts 1,2,3,5,6 and 7. Although presented as four separate assignments of error, Mr. Oh’s appeal advances two basic arguments. First, Mr. Oh claims that the trial court erred in denying his Motion for Acquittal as to Count 1because the Government presented insufficient evidence to support his conviction for wire fraud as charged in that count. Second, Mr. Oh claims that he was prejudiced by certain evidence that the district court erroneously permitted the jury to consider, and his Motion for a New Trial on Counts 1 and 5 should therefore have been granted.