Opinion ID: 2972596
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: -5- No. 04-5532 United States v. Garner Garner argues, without citing any authority, that “the trial court erred by denying the Motion for Judgment of Acquittal on the grounds of insufficiency of the evidence.” She claims that “the medical proof presented on [her] behalf . . . was the sole competent medical proof regarding whether Garner was eligible for . . . benefits.” (emphasis in original) But the charges of mail fraud and the making of false statements to obtain benefits did not depend on whether Garner had a disabling medical condition. Rather, they depended on whether she was lying when she claimed that she was not working outside of her federal job. For example, the first count of mail fraud is based on Garner’s submission of a CA-7 Form in October of 2000, in which she “marked ‘no’ in answer to the question ‘Have you worked outside your federal job during the periods claimed (Include salaried, self-employed, commissioned, volunteer, etc.)’ knowing that she had in fact attended training for operation of the Subway Sandwich Shop during October, 2000.” The second mail-fraud count is based on her submission of a similar document in December of 2000, with the remaining 24 mail-fraud counts resulting from her acceptance of individual workers’ compensation checks. A conviction for mail fraud is premised on 18 U.S.C. § 1341, which provides in pertinent part as follows: Whoever, having devised . . . any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, . . . for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, places in any post office or authorized depository for mail matter, any matter . . . to be sent or delivered by the Postal Service . . . shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. Likewise, the charges of making false statements to obtain federal employee’s compensation and Social Security benefits are based on occasions when Garner told federal investigators that she -6- No. 04-5532 United States v. Garner was not working outside of her federal job. She also submitted written claims to this effect. The making of false claims for benefit payments is a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1920, which provides in pertinent part as follows: Whoever knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up a material fact, or makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or makes or uses a false statement or report knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry in connection with the application for or receipt of compensation or other benefit or payment under subchapter I or III of chapter 81 of title 5, shall be guilty of perjury, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine under this title, or by imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both. . . . To prove that Garner was guilty of these charges, the government was required to submit evidence that the claims she made in order to obtain benefits were false. The government submitted evidence showing that Garner had certified that she was unable to work, and there is no dispute that she received benefits predicated on an inability to work until August of 2002. Several government witnesses testified that Garner was doing physically taxing work at her Subway restaurant throughout this period, and at least one asserted that Garner was driving a FedEx truck as well. Government witnesses described Garner traveling to Subway training meetings, installing shelving in a freezer, putting up wallpaper, and even dancing at a December 2000 Subway Christmas party. Drawing “all reasonable inferences . . . in the government’s favor,” Beverly, 369 F.3d at 532-33, this evidence was more than sufficient for the jury to convict Garner of the charges alleged by the grand jury.