Opinion ID: 6500514
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Convictions for Wire Fraud and

Text: Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud59 William Maxwell also disputes the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his guilty verdict on sixteen counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Those counts were predicated on William’s involvement in two schemes to defraud FirstPlus, namely by causing the company to pay substantial sums to Pelullo’s and Scarfo’s sham businesses, and by causing the company to purchase other Pelullo- and Scarfo-owned businesses at vastly inflated prices. inferences drawn from actions and statements of the conspirators or from the circumstances surrounding the scheme”). And as to the third element, John’s purchase of the firearm and his cross-country drive to deliver it are certainly overt acts taken in furtherance of the conspiracy. See id. at 243 (“[A]n overt act of one conspirator is the act of all[.]”). 59 Because William Maxwell did not move at trial for a judgment of acquittal supporting these convictions, we review for plain error. See supra note 49. We look for “a manifest miscarriage of justice[.]” United States v. Burnett, 773 F.3d 122, 135 (3d Cir. 2014) (citation omitted). “[T]he record must be devoid of evidence of guilt or the evidence must be so tenuous that a conviction is shocking.” Id. Pelullo and John Maxwell purport to adopt William’s arguments on this issue, but William’s arguments pertain specifically to his particular conduct supporting the convictions, and adoptions “that concern an argument specific to the arguing party will not be regarded[.]” United States v. Williams, 974 F.3d 320, 374 n.41 (3d Cir. 2020). 98 To prove wire fraud, the government needed to show “(1) the defendant’s knowing and willful participation in a scheme or artifice to defraud, (2) with the specific intent to defraud, and (3) the use of interstate wire communications in furtherance of the scheme.” United States v. Andrews, 681 F.3d 509, 518 (3d Cir. 2012) (citation, internal quotation marks, and alteration omitted). As for the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, once again that required the government to prove “(1) a conspiracy existed; (2) the defendant knew of it; and (3) the defendant knowingly and voluntarily joined it.” United States v. Wheeler, 16 F.4th 805, 819 (11th Cir. 2021) (citation omitted). William does not focus his attack on the evidence supporting any particular element; he instead claims that he only did “as directed[.]”60 (WM Opening Br. at 34-36.) But the trial evidence against him belies that attempted evasion.61 There was, for example, plenty of evidence to support the jury’s finding that William Maxwell participated in the scheme to defraud FirstPlus by causing the company to funnel money to Pelullo and Scarfo. Evidence at trial showed that FirstPlus gave to William, as “Special Counsel,” the authority “to retain any and all consulting firms, in [his] sole discretion” and compensated him $100,000 per month plus expenses for his efforts. (JAD at 1653-56.) With that authority, he retained 60 Specifically, he is referring to the jury’s verdict with respect to Counts 4 through 16. 61 William Maxwell tries to resist any such conclusion by pointing to instances in which he provided legitimate legal services for FirstPlus. But evidence of legal conduct does not negate the evidence of other, illegal conduct. 99 Seven Hills (Pelullo’s company) pursuant to a consulting agreement in which Seven Hills was given authority to “run the entire operation of FirstPlus Financial Group and its subsidiaries” in exchange for $100,000 per month plus expenses. (JAC at 3755.) Seven Hills then turned around and retained LANA (Scarfo’s company), whereby LANA would receive $33,000 of Seven Hills’s $100,000 per month, plus expenses, to perform identical duties as Seven Hills, although it was clear that LANA was not actually going to perform any of those duties, nor was Seven Hills. William was the one who made those payments happen: he received monthly expense reports from Seven Hills and would coordinate and then issue payments for those expenses by wire transfer on behalf of FirstPlus from his attorney trust account. William also disputes the sufficiency of the evidence of his participation in the purchases of Rutgers and Globalnet.62 But he fails on that score too. When Pelullo bullied Kenneth Stein into drafting inflated business valuations for Rutgers and Globalnet, it was actually William Maxwell who signed the engagement letter formally hiring Stein, with Pelullo operating behind the scenes. And when Stein was compensated for his services, the payment came via wire transfer from William’s law firm account. Moreover, William participated in a discussion that resulted in the inclusion of a false statement in FirstPlus’s 10-K regarding its acquisitions of Rutgers and Globalnet from Seven Hills and LANA. When those deals came together, Pelullo had lawyers working on both sides of the transaction. Nevertheless, FirstPlus falsely claimed in its 62 Specifically, he is referring to the jury’s verdict with respect to Counts 17 through 19. 100 10-K that the acquisitions of Rutgers and Globalnet were “arms-length” deals, notwithstanding William’s unsupported assertion to the contrary. (JAD at 2771.) In sum, evidence of William’s participation in the wire fraud counts and the wire fraud conspiracy was neither lacking nor so “tenuous” as to render the convictions “shocking.” United States v. Burnett, 773 F.3d 122, 135 (3d Cir. 2014). In fact, it was quite the opposite. His convictions on the wirefraud related counts are amply supported by the trial record.