Opinion ID: 730854
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Making False Statements on a Loan Application and Aiding

Text: 83 and Abetting the Same Offense: Counts 5 and 6 84 Stanley Jobe was convicted under Counts 5 and 6 of making false statements on a loan application, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014, and of aiding and abetting Philip Sutton to make false statements on the same application. Stanley argues insufficient evidence. In these instances, we agree with the contention. To prove a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014, the government must demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) the defendant made a false statement to a financial institution; (2) the defendant made the false statement knowingly; (3) he did so for the purpose of influencing the financial institution's action; and (4) the statement was false as to a material fact. United States v. Thompson, 811 F.2d 841, 844 (5th Cir.1987). Stanley is also charged in Count 6 with aiding and abetting Philip Sutton to make false entries in the bank records concerning the same application, which was made, as the indictment charges, by Stanley Pruet Jobe. After reviewing the evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the government, this court concludes that the government has failed to prove that Stanley Jobe made a false statement to a financial institution or that he made a loan application concerning the Deer Creek Spice loan. As a result, Stanley Jobe's convictions are not supported by sufficient evidence. 85 Under Counts 5 and 6, the government's theory of false statement and aiding and abetting is that Stanley Jobe misrepresented that the purpose of the Deer Creek Spice loan was to finance the acquisition of inventory. The government further suggests that this intentional misrepresentation was entered on a loan application made by Stanley Jobe at CNB, dated May 18, 1990. CNB was allegedly influenced by the false statement because this statement was relied upon by bank officers in the bank's loan approval committee. Under the government's theory and indictment of Counts 5 and 6, because Stanley Jobe knowingly misrepresented the purpose of the loan and also aided and abetted Philip Sutton in making material false bank entries at CNB, he is guilty. The record does not, however, support the government's assertion that Stanley Jobe made a false statement on a loan application at CNB or communicated with Philip Sutton in any way to assist Sutton in making false bank records concerning the loan. It is undisputed that Stanley made no direct representations concerning the loan. 22 He was neither the borrower nor the payee of the proceeds, although he was a guarantor. Moreover, Stanley Jobe did not sign any loan application at CNB on May 18, 1990; 23 in fact, there was no formal loan application whatsoever, but rather a loan presentation form that was compiled by CNB employees and used by Sutton but unsigned by Stanley. At no time during trial did the government introduce into evidence a loan application on which Stanley Jobe made a false statement. Because the government's evidence at trial was insufficient to allow a reasonable juror to conclude that Stanley made false statements on a loan application or aided and abetted Sutton, his Counts 5 and 6 convictions are reversed. 86