Opinion ID: 4531772
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Trial of VOG Defendants

Text: In April 2012, Lacerda, Resnick, Manzoni, and several other VOG employees were arrested after being charged with various counts of mail and wire fraud. VOG then changed its name to VO Financial and continued operations, still using the same misrepresentation-riddled sales pitches. Later, a superseding indictment was filed charging Lacerda, Resnick, Manzoni, and fifteen other VOG employees with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Lacerda was also charged with nine counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud arising from his VOG scheme, and a final count of mail fraud for wrongfully receiving unemployment benefits while he was employed and receiving compensation at VOG. 1 Resnick was charged with two counts of mail fraud and three of wire fraud for his work at VOG, and another count of mail fraud for his unemployment fraud. And Manzoni was charged with one count of wire fraud for her work at VOG and a separate count of wire fraud for, allegedly, wrongfully receiving unemployment benefits. Other VOG employees received similar charges. 1 Lacerda, together with his wife, was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of money laundering, but these were dismissed by order of the District Court as a matter of law. 6 Most of the VOG defendants negotiated plea agreements with the government. But five defendants—Adam and Ashley Lacerda, Resnick, Manzoni, and Joseph DiVenti— took their cases to trial. Relevant to this appeal, about four and a half months before trial, the District Court disqualified Lacerda’s then-attorney, Neff, as a potential witness and denied replacement counsel’s requested continuance. It also denied Manzoni’s motion to sever her VOG-related fraud charges from her unemployment-related fraud charges. The government’s first witness at trial was FBI Special Agent John Mesisca, an experienced agent in wire and mail fraud investigations and the lead investigator in the case. Mesisca was allowed, over appellants’ objections, to provide an extensive overview of his investigation. During trial, again over appellants’ objections, the District Court also excluded certain hearsay evidence and allowed other evidence for impeachment purposes. The jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts related to Lacerda. The District Court sentenced him to 324 months imprisonment with three years of supervised release, and it ordered him to pay restitution of $2,679,656.09. The jury also found Resnick guilty on all counts related to him. The District Court sentenced him to 216 months imprisonment with three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $2,735,142.99. While the jury found Manzoni guilty of both the conspiracy charge and wire fraud in relation to her work at VOG, it acquitted her on the charge of unemployment fraud. The District Court entered judgment against Manzoni on the conspiracy and mail fraud charges, sentenced her to 42 months imprisonment with three years of supervised release, and ordered her to pay restitution of $105,422.2 The District Court also ordered the forfeiture of all of VOG’s gross proceeds. This appeal follows. The District Court had jurisdiction over the several crimes charged in this case under 18 U.S.C. § 3231. We have jurisdiction over appeals from final judgments and orders under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. 2 The jury also found Ashley Lacerda guilty on all remaining counts but acquitted Joseph DiVenti. 7