Opinion ID: 3160112
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Instruction on Aiding or Abetting the

Text: Offer or Sale of Unregistered Securities The parties agreed to, and the court gave, the following instruction on15 U.S.C. § 77e and 18 U.S.C. § 2: In order for a defendant to be found guilty of the illegal sale or distribution of unregistered securities as charged in the Indictment, the government must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt: First, that the securities which the defendant sold were not registered with UNITED STATES V. LLOYD 69 the [S]ecurities and Exchange Commission; Second, that the securities sold were required to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission— that is, that the transactions were not exempt from registration; Third, that, knowing the securities were not registered and not exempt, the defendant willfully sold or caused them to be sold to the public; and Fourth, that the defendant used or caused to be used the mails or the means and instrumentalities of interstate commerce to sell the securities. Nelson contends that this instruction failed to convey the government’s burden to prove that he knew that the unregistered securities he was selling had to be registered. Nelson contends that it was not enough for the government to prove his knowledge that the securities were not exempt from the registration requirement. Because Nelson agreed to the instruction without objection, plain-error review applies. See United States v. Feldman, 853 F.2d 648, 652 (9th Cir. 1988). Nelson cites no authority for his argument, and we have found none. In context, the difference between knowing that the law required registering the securities in order to sell them and knowing that the unregistered securities were not exempt from the registration requirement is not material. We find no reversible error. 70 UNITED STATES V. LLOYD