Opinion ID: 729705
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 9 Lawanson first asserts that the evidence was insufficient to sustain her convictions. She was convicted on all counts encompassing four different offenses: conspiracy (count 1); aiding and abetting wire fraud (counts 2-9); aiding and abetting money laundering (counts 10-15); and aiding and abetting the use of unauthorized access devices (count 16). The Government concedes that the evidence was insufficient to support Lawanson's conviction on count 11, and thus we reverse her conviction and vacate her sentence on that count. On all other counts the evidence was sufficient.
10 We review the sufficiency of the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, accepting all credibility choices and reasonable inferences made by the jury. United States v. McCord, 33 F.3d 1434, 1439 (5th Cir. 1994) (internal quotations omitted), cert. denied, 115 S. Ct. 2558 (1995). A conviction must therefore be upheld if a rational jury could have found that the prosecution proved the essential elements of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. It 'is not necessary that the evidence exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence or be wholly inconsistent with every Conclusion except that of guilt.' Id. (quoting United States v. Bell, 678 F.2d 547, 549 (5th Cir. 1982), aff'd, 462 U.S. 356, 76 L. Ed. 2d 638, 103 S. Ct. 2398 (1983)). This standard of review is the same regardless whether the evidence is direct or circumstantial. United States v. Cardenas, 9 F.3d 1139, 1156 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 128 L. Ed. 2d 876, 114 S. Ct. 2150 (1994).
11 Lawanson concedes that there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find a conspiracy and that wire fraud, money laundering, and use of unauthorized access devices occurred. She asserts, however, that the Government failed to prove that she knowingly participated in the fraudulent scheme.
12 To satisfy the intent requirement of conspiracy, the Government must show that Lawanson knew of the conspiracy and voluntarily joined it, United States v. Chaney, 964 F.2d 437, 449 (5th Cir. 1992), and that Lawanson had the requisite intent to commit the underlying substantive offenses. United States v. Buford, 889 F.2d 1406, 1409 n.5 (5th Cir 1989). Because the Government proceeded under the theory that Lawanson aided and abetted the substantive violations, it is not necessary to prove that Lawanson herself completed each specific act charged in the indictment. The Government must prove, however, that she associated with the criminal venture such that she had the same criminal intent as the principal. See United States v. Murray, 988 F.2d 518, 522 (5th Cir. 1993). To aid and abet simply means to assist the perpetrator of a crime while sharing the requisite criminal intent. United States v. Jaramillo, 42 F.3d 920, 923 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 131 L. Ed. 2d 1013, 115 S. Ct. 2014 (1995). 13 The intent necessary for wire fraud is the specific intent to defraud or deceive, although proof of such intent can arise by inference from all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the transactions. United States v. Keller, 14 F.3d 1051, 1056 (5th Cir. 1994) (internal quotations omitted). To convict Lawanson of money laundering, the Government must prove either that she intended to promote the carrying on of an unlawful activity or knew that the transaction was designed to conceal the proceeds of an unlawful activity. United States v. Garza, 42 F.3d 251, 253 (5th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, 132 L. Ed. 2d 268, 115 S. Ct. 2263 (1995). Finally, to convict for use of unauthorized access devices, the Government must prove that Lawanson acted knowingly and with the intent to defraud, although proof of such intent may be established with circumstantial evidence. United States v. Goodchild, 25 F.3d 55, 59-60 (1st Cir. 1995).
14 Lawanson essentially makes two arguments. First, she contends that, although her name and apparent signature appear on many of the documents that the Government introduced into evidence, the Government offered no proof that she had actually signed her name on the documents. Second, Lawanson asserts that even if she did participate in some of the transactions described in the indictment as overt acts, 3 the Government still failed to prove that this participation was sufficient to show that she had the requisite knowledge and intent required for conviction. 15 Lawanson points out that the Government did not undertake a handwriting analysis of any of the signatures; that the limited fingerprint analysis did not inculpate her; that no witnesses saw her sign any of the documents; and that there was testimony that her husband, Segun Debowale, had used Lawanson's name as part of the illegal scheme. Lawanson contends that such evidence calls into question whether she signed the documents on which her name appears. 16 The evidence suggests otherwise. The Government introduced two Texas driver's licenses into evidence, one bearing the name Nuratu Ronke Lawanson and the other bearing the name Abiodun K. Lawanson. Each of these licenses contained a photograph and a signature. A reasonable jury could conclude that both photos were that of Lawanson 4 and that the signatures were her's as well. A jury is entitled to draw its own Conclusion as to the genuineness of signatures by making a comparison with an authentic signature. United States v. Jenkins, 785 F.2d 1387, 1395 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 889, 93 L. Ed. 2d 262, 107 S. Ct. 287 (1986); United States v. Cashio, 420 F.2d 1132, 1135 (5th Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 1007, 25 L. Ed. 2d 420, 90 S. Ct. 1234 (1970); Fed. R. Evid. 901(b)(3). In this case, the signature on the driver's licenses bearing Lawanson's picture served as an authentic signature, and by comparison, a reasonable trier of fact could determine that Lawanson's signature on the other documents was genuine. 17 The determination that Lawanson signed the various financial documents is crucial to the jury's finding of guilt because it is her signature on many of the business records that connects her to the fraudulent scheme. First, she filed assumed name certificates as the owner of Cheques Cashed, Designer's Outlet, and ADE Postal Services, three of the phony businesses used to further the scheme. Second, Lawanson applied for merchant credit card accounts with First Interstate Bank of South Dakota for the businesses called Checks Cashed and Designer's Outlet. Again, Checks Cashed and Designer's Outlet were fake businesses, and First Interstate is one of the merchant credit card issuers whose wire transfers to the fake businesses formed the basis of four counts of wire fraud. Third, Lawanson opened bank accounts at First National Bank for ADE Cheques Cashed and at Texas Capitol Bank for Designer's Outlet, two of the banks about which the money laundering counts revolved. An employee of Texas Capital Bank met Lawanson the day after she attempted to wire $7,000 to Nigeria and identified her in court as the signatory on the Designer's Outlet account. Lawanson's signature also appears as maker on many Designer's Outlet checks made payable to Segun Debowale, Nuratu Lawanson, and Chidi Amaefule (all co-conspirators in this scheme). Further, Lawanson's signature appears on the back of some of these checks, indicating that she tendered or cashed these checks. A reasonable jury could find that these signatures on all of these documents match those on the Texas driver's licenses. 18 Lawanson questions the authenticity of the signatures because a Western Union agent identified Segun Debowale as Lawanson. Lawanson argues that this evidence suggests that Debowale signed Lawanson's name on Western Union's agreement with ADE Cheques Cashed (dba National Cash Express), and, by implication, on other documents. But this evidence cuts both ways. The signature on the two Western Union documents does not appear to match the signatures on Lawanson's driver's licenses and the other documents discussed above. A reasonable jury could therefore conclude, based upon the eyewitness identification of Debowale as Lawanson, that these signatures belonged to Debowale. The jurors could also infer that while the signature on the two Western Union documents belonged to Debowale, the other signatures belonged to Lawanson. 5 Furthermore, there were signatures on other Western Union/National Cash Express documents that did not match Debowale's signature but did match the signatures from Lawanson's driver's licenses. 6 19 The Government also introduced other evidence establishing Lawanson's guilt. The fact that Lawanson had two Texas driver's licenses, bearing different names and containing different personal information, and operated the phony businesses using different names, is circumstantial evidence of her unlawful intent. Furthermore, an agent who conducted a surveillance of one of the fake businesses observed Lawanson there on three occasions. Each of the businesses that Lawanson was directly tied to was involved in processing the stolen credit cards. 20 Despite the foregoing evidence, Lawanson argues that the Government failed to prove that she had the necessary intent to be convicted of conspiracy and the other substantive charges. We disagree. Lawanson asserts that her conspiracy conviction must be reversed because the above evidence establishes that she was merely present during the commission of the illegal scheme and that the only evidence tying her to the conspiracy was based on her marital relationship with Debowale. It is true that a showing of mere presence and association with those participating in a conspiracy is insufficient to prove knowledge of and participation in criminal activity, United States v. Jackson, 700 F.2d 181, 185 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 842, 104 S. Ct. 139, 78 L. Ed. 2d 132 (1983), and that a conspiracy cannot be proven solely by a family relationship. United States v. Williams-Hendricks, 805 F.2d 496, 503 (5th Cir. 1986). The evidence, however, establishes that Lawanson was more than merely present during the conspiracy and that her role in the illegal scheme was not limited to her marital relationship with Debowale. When inferences drawn from the existence of a family relationship or 'mere knowing presence' are combined with other circumstantial evidence, there may be sufficient evidence to support a conspiracy conviction. Williams-Hendricks, 805 F.2d at 503. 21 Lawanson's assertion that the evidence was insufficient to prove that she had the requisite intent to be convicted of the substantive crimes also lacks merit. Regarding the wire fraud counts, Lawanson herself applied for merchant accounts with First Interstate for two of the fake businesses and she filed assumed name certificates for three of the sham businesses. The Government also introduced evidence of wire communications: stolen or fraudulent credit cards were used to make purchases of nonexistent merchandise, Comcheks, and Flash Cash checks at the businesses to which Lawanson was connected. This evidence is sufficient to allow a reasonable jury to conclude that Lawanson participated in a scheme to defraud and that she used wire communication in furtherance of this scheme. See United States v. Dula, 989 F.2d 772, 778 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 859, 114 S. Ct. 172, 126 L. Ed. 2d 131 (1993). Further, a reasonable trier of fact could find that Lawanson acted with the specific intent to defraud because unlawful intent to defraud may be proven by circumstantial evidence. See United States v. Aggarwal, 17 F.3d 737, 740 (5th Cir. 1994). The paper trail connecting Lawanson to the phony businesses is sufficient to prove her membership in the scheme to defraud, and once membership is established, a knowing participant is liable for any wire communication that takes place in connection with the scheme. Dula, 989 F.2d at 778. 22 The Government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Lawanson aided and abetted money laundering. Specifically, the Government alleged that by depositing the illegally-obtained Comcheks into the bank accounts of the fraudulent businesses and withdrawing funds from these accounts, Lawanson intended to promote an illegal activity and designed to conceal the nature of these proceeds. See Garza, 42 F.3d at 253. The Government may show either that Lawanson knowingly designed to conceal the proceeds of an illegal activity or that she intended to promote the carrying on of unlawful activity. Id. ; 18 U.S.C. 1956(a)(1)(A)(i), (a)(1)(B)(i). To establish that Lawanson designed to conceal the proceeds of an illegal activity, the Government must prove more than just innocent money spending, although it is sufficient to show that the transaction is part of a larger scheme designed to conceal illegal proceeds. United States v. Willey, 57 F.3d 1374, 1385-86 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 133 L. Ed. 2d 524, 116 S. Ct. 675 (1995). Intent to promote the illegal activity can be established by showing the defendant used the illegal proceeds to promote the unlawful scheme by presenting herself as a legitimate business owner. See United States v. Alford, 999 F.2d 818, 824 (5th Cir. 1993). Lawanson opened up two separate bank accounts for three of the phony businesses; attempted to wire $7,000 to Nigeria; signed many checks payable to herself and co-conspirators; and owned businesses into whose bank accounts the Comcheks were deposited. This evidence is sufficient to prove both that the bank transactions were part of a larger scheme designed to conceal the illegal activity and that Lawanson promoted the unlawful endeavor by presenting herself as a legitimate business owner. The multiple transactions were part of an overall scheme designed to conceal the illegal proceeds in that the proceeds generated by one phony business run by one co-conspirator were often deposited in the bank account of another sham business owned by a different co-conspirator. In addition, by depositing the Comcheks into the bank accounts, Lawanson gave the appearance that she was operating a legitimate business by accepting Comcheks in exchange for merchandise, when in reality there was no purchase of goods and only a deposit of illegal funds. In fact, the entire scheme was premised on the fraud that Lawanson and her co-conspirators were operating legitimate businesses, because this influenced the banks and merchant credit card companies to do business with the conspirators. 23 Finally, the evidence is sufficient to convict Lawanson of aiding and abetting the use of unauthorized access devices. Stolen credit cards are one type of unauthorized access device, 18 U.S.C. 1029(e)(1), (e)(3); United States v. Jacobowitz, 877 F.2d 162, 165 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 866, 107 L. Ed. 2d 141, 110 S. Ct. 186 (1989), and the Government produced ample evidence that stolen credit cards were used at the sham businesses. Proof that Lawanson herself used the specific credit cards described in the indictment is not necessary because the Government proceeded under the theory that Lawanson aided and abetted in the use of stolen credit cards. The Government was simply required to prove that Lawanson became associated with, participated in, and in some way acted to further the use of the stolen credit cards. See United States v. Chavez, 947 F.2d 742, 746 (5th Cir. 1991). Although the Government must prove that Lawanson acted with the intent to defraud, such intent may be proven by circumstantial evidence. Goodchild, 25 F.3d at 60. The extensive paper trail tying Lawanson to the phony businesses satisfies all of the necessary elements. See Chavez, 947 F.2d at 746 (noting that the same evidence will typically support both a conspiracy and an aiding and abetting conviction).