Opinion ID: 405376
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence of Mailing in Execution of a Fraudulent Scheme

Text: 27 We turn now to the more complicated question of whether there was sufficient evidence to sustain a finding that defendant mailed the three affidavits described in the indictment in a deliberate effort to conceal his scheme to defraud P.E.O.P.L.E.; or in execution of a scheme to defraud Louisiana's Supervisory Committee of true and correct campaign finance information. 28 A brief excursion into Louisiana state law is necessary to understand the evidence. Under Louisiana's Election Act, political committees such as P.E.O.P.L.E. 18 are required to report their campaign finances to the Supervisory Committee. Ordinarily, political committees must submit a detailed report which contains the name of each person who contributed money to the political committee and the amount contributed by that person, as well as the total sum of all contributions received by the committee. R.S. 18:1486E(1) and (2). However, there is an exception for small campaigns. R.S. 18:1487. In lieu of a full report, a political committee may file an affidavit stating first, that the committee did not receive contributions from any one source in excess of the applicable reporting amount, in this case five hundred dollars; 19 and second, that the committee's total expenditures did not exceed $5,000. 29 Gordon Curry mailed an affidavit after each election stating that P.E.O.P.L.E. had not received contributions from any one candidate in excess of five hundred dollars. However, the Election Act defines contributions broadly as any money received for the purpose of supporting a person's election to public office. 20 Under the terms of the statute, contributions could include money given by a candidate to a political committee to support the candidates own election. 30 The Government argues that the affidavits mailed by Curry were patently false, since P.E.O.P.L.E. received far in excess of five hundred dollars from individual candidates in each of the three elections. 21 Moreover, a jury could reasonably conclude that the false affidavits were mailed in a deliberate effort to conceal Curry's fraudulent scheme from P.E.O.P.L.E. members. If Curry had submitted nothing to the Supervisory Committee, P.E.O.P.L.E. could have been prosecuted under the Election Act for failure to disclose campaign finances. If Curry had filed a correct report, detailing the amounts of money received from each candidate, he would have run the risk of investigation by P.E.O.P.L.E.'s members, and the possible detection of his fraudulent scheme to keep candidate's money for his own use. 31 Curry contends, however, that even assuming the existence of a scheme to defraud P.E.O.P.L.E., there is insufficient evidence to sustain a finding that the affidavits were mailed in an effort to conceal the scheme. 32 According to Curry, the affidavits were mailed directly to the Supervisory Committee; they were never distributed to any members of P.E.O.P.L.E., and therefore could not have been used as a device to misrepresent anything to that organization. Although two of the affidavits were presented by Curry to the presidents of P.E.O.P.L.E. for their signatures, 22 both Mr. Ford and Mr. Johnson testified that they did not read the affidavit carefully at the time they signed the documents. No other members of P.E.O.P.L.E. saw the affidavits. 23 33 We find there is sufficient evidence to support a jury finding that Curry intended the affidavits to conceal his fraudulent scheme. First, a member of the Supervisory Committee testified that reports filed with the Committee became part of the public record, and that local newspapers frequently published campaign finance reports of particular interest. Thus, Curry risked publication of a detailed report of money received by P.E.O.P.L.E., had he filed such a report. In addition, Curry could not be assured of obtaining Ford's and Johnson's signatures on a detailed campaign finance report without risking investigation. The jury could have reasoned that Ford and Johnson each signed a short affidavit without questioning Curry as to its contents because nothing on the face of the affidavit aroused suspicion. 24 However, had Curry presented to the president a long report showing the total amount of funds received by him from candidates, sums which totalled $10,650.00, $7,850.00 and $5,052.80 for the three elections in question, the president might well have demanded an explanation of Curry as to the disbursement of those funds. Certainly, neither Ford nor Johnson would have been likely to accept Curry's representation that P.E.O.P.L.E. was left with a shortage of funds after each election. 34 In sum, there was ample evidence to sustain a jury finding that Curry mailed the affidavits in a deliberate attempt to conceal his fraudulent scheme from P.E.O.P.L.E.'s members; and thus, that the affidavits were mailed for the purpose of executing Curry's fraudulent scheme. Moreover, the same evidence supports a finding that Curry falsified the affidavits in order to conceal from the Supervisory Committee the true amounts collected from candidates. Thus, the jury could find that Curry intended to defraud the Supervisory Committee of correct campaign finance information.