Opinion ID: 2978318
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Proof of Bourke’s Loss

Text: Elson next argues that the government failed to show that the fees sought on behalf of Bourke were reasonable and further argues that, because Bourke actually seeks compensation for his own time, the government failed to show that Bourke suffered any loss. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3664(e), the “burden of demonstrating the amount of loss sustained by a victim as a result of the offense shall be on the attorney for the Government.” At the restitution hearing, the government presented the testimony and billing records of Bourke. Bourke testified that he incurred excessive legal fees and costs, including the expenditure of his own time, because of the actions of the Schultz conspirators. As the government summarized in its post-hearing brief: No. 07-3778 United States v. Elson Page 20 The conspirators operated . . . to “frustrate” Bourke and his clients through unlawful means at virtually every juncture between mid-1994 and early 1998, causing him to incur fees and expenses for which he was not compensated. Kennedy and Bogart hid assets in and through Canada based on false transactions that were virtually impossible to penetrate and they concealed funds in offshore accounts that were beyond the reach of the civil litigants. In fact, when Bourke attempted to expose those and other transactions, the defendants sought to impede his progress through false statements and sham litigation perpetrated by Elson and Massari. Bourke testified that he incurred excessive litigation costs and fees . . . , including the costs and fees associated with the sham litigation. (J.A. 261.) Had Bourke hired a different attorney to pursue the collection efforts on behalf of himself and Bryant, Bourke would have incurred attorney fees as a result of the conspiracy’s efforts to conceal assets. That Bourke performed the legal services himself should not preclude recovery of the amounts he expended as a direct result of the actions of Elson and others. See Havens, 424 F.3d at 539 (“To the extent that [the victim of identity fraud] spent time that otherwise would have been compensated, perhaps because she had to miss work and forego hourly compensation, or because she had to turn down professional clients to whom she could have provided services if she was not occupied with her credit restoration activities, her time may be compensated. Time spent for which the opportunity cost was zero, however, cannot be the subject of compensation . . . .”). Bourke testified at the restitution hearing that he spent “hundreds of thousands of hours” pursuing the judgment against Schultz, time that could have been spent performing work for other clients. Accordingly, through Bourke’s testimony, the government proved the amount of losses Bourke incurred by a preponderance of the evidence. With respect to the reasonableness of Bourke’s fees, Bourke provided numerous pages of time sheets to the district court and explained how he allocated his work on the Schultz case between collection efforts and other matters. Further, during the restitution hearing, Bourke was subject to cross-examination by several of the defendants with respect to certain entries in his time sheets. Without any evidence to suggest that Bourke falsified his time sheets or otherwise did not spend the time claimed on collection No. 07-3778 United States v. Elson Page 21 activities, Elson has failed to show that the district court clearly erred in concluding that the government “establish[ed] that the damages [Bourke] sustained amounted to $744,424.66.” (J.A. 159.) Aside from alleging that the government failed to prove that the fees were reasonable, Elson offers no argument that the fees were unreasonable, or that Bourke’s hours were excessive. Accordingly, we see no reason to overturn the district court’s determination that the government established Bourke’s loss by a preponderance of the evidence.