Opinion ID: 162640
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mail Fraud (Overholt and Attaluri).

Text: 108 To convict of mail fraud, it is necessary to prove a use of the mails. The government relied on Overholt's mailing of fraudulent bills of lading to Attaluri on May 18, 1995. Defendants contend that this mailing did not satisfy the requirements of the mail fraud statute. Overholt challenges his mail fraud conviction on the ground that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the bills of lading were false or that they were used or intended to be used to defraud anyone. Attaluri claims that he was an innocent recipient of Overholt's false bills of lading. 109 We review the sufficiency of the evidence de novo. United States v. Hanzlicek, 187 F.3d 1228, 1239 (10th Cir.1999). The test is whether taking the evidence — both direct and circumstantial, together with the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom — in the light most favorable to the government, a reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). 110 On May 15, 1995, an ODEQ investigator contacted Attaluri to inquire about Allied's business relationship with Overholt Trucking. She asked Attaluri to provide her with documentation regarding the relationship. Two days later, ODEQ investigator Michael Freeman telephoned Attaluri and asked for shipping papers of any materials that he had shipped to Mr. Overholt. Although Attaluri agreed to fax the requested documents to Freeman later in the day, the fax never came. At 3:18 p.m. on the same day, Attaluri telephoned Overholt's residence. The content of that conversation is unknown. At 5:55 p.m. Overholt telephoned one of his drivers, Bob Fleming. Fleming testified that Overholt wanted to know if I'd make him up some bills [of lading] for each Wednesday from one certain date to another and put on it burner fuel, because he said the OCC was coming to check his paperwork. Fleming did so, but testified that these are fake bill[s] of lading[], and that he never made the hauls referred to in the documents. At 7:27 that evening Overholt placed a telephone call to the Attaluri residence. The next day, May 18, Overholt mailed the falsified bills of lading to Attaluri at Allied. When EPA investigators searched Allied's offices on November 15, 1995, they found the bills of lading on Attaluri's desk, in a postmarked envelope with Overholt as the return addressee. 111 Fleming's testimony is sufficient for the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the bills of lading were false and that Overholt had the requisite intent to defraud. Likewise, the timing of the mailing in relation to Freeman's telephone call to Attaluri, particularly in light of the telephone calls made within a few hours of Freeman's call, could properly establish that Attaluri was a knowing participant in this part of the scheme to defraud. 112 Nevertheless, we must reverse the convictions for mail fraud. There is no evidence that Defendants ever used the fraudulent bills of lading. Perhaps this is merely fortuitous. Attaluri may have intended to provide them to Freeman or any other ODEQ investigator who followed up on Freeman's call, but no one followed up. Regardless, the jury was instructed that [t]he government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, however, that the use of the mails furthered, or advanced, or carried out, in some way, the scheme or plan to defraud. Although we are not certain whether the instruction accurately states the law — the mail fraud statute says that the mailing must be for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (emphasis added), which suggests that it suffices to have the purpose of advancing the scheme when the mailing occurs, but see United States v. McClain, 934 F.2d 822, 835 (7th Cir.1991) (mail fraud conviction overturned because defendants never used the phony credentials obtained through the mail) — the government has not challenged the instruction at trial or on appeal, so we adopt it as the law of the case. See United States v. Romero, 136 F.3d 1268, 1271-73 (10th Cir.1998). 113 Despite our setting aside the convictions for mail fraud, the sentences are not thereby affected. Elimination of the mail fraud conviction would not change the ultimate offense level under the Sentencing Guidelines for either Defendant. Also, because our setting aside the mail fraud conviction would not compel the sentencing court to change in any way its assessment of the substance of Defendants' misconduct, we do not think it is a realistic possibility that eliminating the mail fraud conviction would alter the sentencing court's exercise of discretion in fixing the sentence within the guideline range. 114