Opinion ID: 549775
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Causing False Entries to be Made in the Records of an

Text: 36 Institution Having Accounts Insured by the FSLIC 37 Counts 26 through 47 of the indictment stated charges against all three of the defendants here under 18 U.S.C. Secs. 2, 1006, namely, that they knowingly and willfully made or caused to be made false entries in the records of an institution having accounts insured by the FSLIC. Robert and Morten Hopkins were convicted on all 22 of these counts; John Harrell was convicted on only two. The Hopkins contend that the evidence was insufficient to show that they acted with the requisite mental state; Harrell contends that the evidence was insufficient to show that he caused false entries to be made. These arguments have no merit. 38 To prove a violation of Sec. 1006 the Government must show that 1) the defendant was an officer, agent, or employee of an institution having accounts insured by the FSLIC, 2) that he knowingly and willfully made a false entry in the records or books of the institution, and 3) that he acted unlawfully and intended to injure, defraud, or deceive the bank or any of its officers, auditors, examiners, or agents. United States v. Tullos, 868 F.2d 689, 693-94 (5th Cir.1989). See also Stovall, 825 F.2d at 822. As the Hopkins did in respect to the charges brought under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 657, they again argue that the Government did not produce sufficient evidence to prove that they had any intent to injure or defraud their savings and loan. 39 The requirements for making out a violation of Sec. 1006 are very similar to those under Sec. 657. Both allow conviction upon proof that the defendants acted with intent to injure or defraud their institution. Thus, the evidence that allowed the jury to conclude that the Hopkins acted with intent to injure or defraud the institution with respect to the charges brought under Sec. 657 also suffices for the charges brought under Sec. 1006. 40 Harrell contends that the evidence was insufficient to show that he caused false entries to be made in the records of the savings and loan. Harrell is incorrect. There was ample evidence from which the jury could reasonably have concluded that Harrell did cause false entries to be made. As to count 43, the first count on which he was convicted, Harrell personally approved an expense report of one of the institution's officers which disguised a political contribution as travel expenses. While Harrell testified that he signed a partially blank form which was later altered by someone else, his former secretary testified that he was very careful about checking the accuracy of expense reports, and that she would not have had him sign a blank form. Harrell was also the institution's expert on compliance with federal regulations and knew the importance of keeping accurate records. 41 In reaching its verdict the jury was entitled to weigh the evidence and resolve any evidentiary conflicts. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. at 2789. Here the jury simply resolved the conflict in favor of the Government. The jury could reasonably have believed and weighed more heavily the documentary evidence and the testimony of his secretary than it did Harrell's own testimony, and reached a guilty verdict as a result. 42 Similar reasoning applies to Harrell's second conviction. As to that count, which also charges that Harrell caused to be made a false report in order to reimburse a corporate officer for his contribution, there was evidence that Harrell told the officer to contribute to the political action committee and that he would be reimbursed for his contribution. There was also testimony from which the jury could reasonably infer that Harrell knew that the reimbursements were being made from corporate travel funds. Taken together, this testimony would allow the jury reasonably to conclude that Harrell caused a false expense report to be made and approved. 43 In sum, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Government, the evidence was sufficient to allow the jury to find the defendants guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on each of the offenses of which they were convicted. 44 B. The Trial Judge's Refusal to Grant a Continuance 45 The defendants next argue that the trial judge erred by refusing to grant them a two week continuance in the midst of the trial so that they could examine 18 recently discovered boxes of correspondence and other documents of John Harrell. The boxes were discovered during the defense's presentation of its case in a storage room at the savings and loan of which Harrell was formerly an officer. Although defense counsel initially told the trial court that he thought the trial could proceed, after further review of the documents defense counsel requested a two week continuance. The trial court denied that particular motion but then allowed defendants two days to conduct their review. The defendants used a part of this time to review the documents, and the trial proceeded. 46 After the verdict was rendered the defendants filed a motion for a new trial on the grounds that they were prejudiced by the trial court's failure to grant their request for a two week continuance. The district court denied the motion on the basis of several findings. First, the district court found that the Government was unaware of the existence of the documents, and that the Government was not in any way responsible for their belated discovery. Second, the district court found that Harrell already had or could readily have obtained many of the documents, since they were correspondence either from him or to him, or other documents that he had previously read or prepared. Third, the district court found that much of the rest of the material was not relevant or was only collaterally relevant. Fourth, the court found that the documents that Harrell would have introduced contained evidence that was available from other witnesses, or that the documents would have been of no help to Harrell's defense. Finally, the court found that Harrell did nothing to try to mitigate any possible prejudice. Harrell's counsel reviewed the documents for less than an hour instead of the two days offered by the court, proceeded to question Harrell before examining the documents, and declined the court's invitation to reopen direct examination of Harrell to permit him to explain the documents that the Government intended to use on cross-examination. 47 It is well settled that the decision to grant a continuance lies within the sound discretion of the trial judge and is subject to reversal only for an abuse of that discretion. United States v. Webster, 734 F.2d 1048 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1073, 105 S.Ct. 565, 83 L.Ed.2d 506 (1984). Whether a continuance was properly denied depends on the circumstances of the case. Ungar v. Sarafite, 376 U.S. 575, 589, 84 S.Ct. 841, 849, 11 L.Ed.2d 921 (1964). The relevant circumstances include the amount of time available, the defendant's role in shortening the time needed, the likelihood of prejudice from a denial, and the availability of discovery from the prosecution. See United States v. McDonald, 837 F.2d 1287, 1289 (5th Cir.1988); United States v. Garmany, 762 F.2d 929, 936 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1062, 106 S.Ct. 811, 88 L.Ed.2d 785 (1986). Judged by these factors, it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the continuance. 48 First, the defendants did not do what they could to shorten the time needed to review the documents. They spent only a fraction of the time allotted and declined the trial judge's offer to continue the trial for the rest of the day. Moreover, given that the Government was able to identify overnight several documents that it wished to use to cross-examine Harrell, it seems clear that the defense could have made profitable use of time offered. Second, the defendants have shown no prejudice from the denial of the continuance. All of the information in the documents was either 1) previously known or available to Harrell, 2) available from other sources known to the defendants, 3) irrelevant to the case, 4) of no assistance to the defense, or 5) cumulative of other testimony. Accordingly, the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in denying the continuance. C. Evidence of a Prior Bad Act 49 The defendants next argue that the trial court erred by improperly admitting evidence of an extrinsic act which tended to show that Morten Hopkins and John Harrell acted with intent to injure the savings and loan institution. In particular, the defendants complain of the admission of testimony from a former vice president of the savings and loan that on an earlier occasion she was told by Morten Hopkins and John Harrell to conceal certain bad loans from state bank examiners. 50 The trial court admitted the testimony under Fed.R.Evid. 404(b). 10 The trial court found that the evidence met the requirements of United States v. Beechum, 582 F.2d 898 (5th Cir.1978) (en banc), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 920, 99 S.Ct. 1244, 59 L.Ed.2d 472 (1979): the evidence was relevant to Morten Hopkins' and Harrell's intent to commit the offenses charged, and its probative value was not outweighed by any danger of undue prejudice. 51 In addition, the court gave an appropriate limiting instruction. Before the former vice president testified, the court cautioned the jury not to consider the testimony in connection with deciding whether the defendants did any of the acts alleged, but only in connection with determining their state of mind. The jury is presumed to have followed the instruction. See Marshall v. Lonberger, 459 U.S. 422, 438 n. 6, 103 S.Ct. 843, 853 n. 6, 74 L.Ed.2d 646 (1983). Consequently, the trial court did not err in admitting the evidence. See Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. 681, 108 S.Ct. 1496, 1502, 99 L.Ed.2d 771 (1988); United States v. Cordell, 912 F.2d 769, 775 (5th Cir.1990). 52 D. Prosecution Under General Fraud and Misrepresentation Laws 53 The defendants next argue that their convictions under Title 18 for fraud, concealment, and misapplication of funds (which are felonies) are improper because the defendants should have been prosecuted only under the federal election laws (which create only misdemeanors). This contention is meritless. It is well settled that when an act violates more than one criminal statute, the Government may prosecute under either so long as it does not discriminate against any class of defendants. United States v. Batchelder, 442 U.S. 114, 123-24, 99 S.Ct. 2198, 2204, 60 L.Ed.2d 755 (1979). See also Garrett v. United States, 471 U.S. 773, 778, 105 S.Ct. 2407, 2411, 85 L.Ed.2d 764 (1985); United States v. Cavada, 821 F.2d 1046, 1048 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 932, 108 S.Ct. 304, 98 L.Ed.2d 262 (1987). The only exception arises where Congress clearly intended that one statute supplant another; the fact that one statute is more specific than the other is not sufficient. See United States v. Zabel, 702 F.2d 704, 707-08 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 934, 104 S.Ct. 339, 78 L.Ed.2d 308 (1983). Nor does the fact that one statute prescribes a felony and the other prescribes a misdemeanor affect the prosecutor's authority to choose among statutes. See Cavada, 821 F.2d at 1048-49; United States v. Barrett, 837 F.2d 933 (10th Cir.1988); United States v. Edmondson, 792 F.2d 1492 (9th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1037, 107 S.Ct. 892, 93 L.Ed.2d 844 (1987). 54 There is no indication in the federal election laws that Congress intended them to supplant the general criminal statutes found in Title 18. See 2 U.S.C. Sec. 437g(d)(1)(A) (imposing criminal penalty for violation of federal election laws). Moreover, the defendants in this case violated not only the election laws but also committed acts that constituted independent violations of the more general criminal statutes of Title 18. Conviction under those sections requires proof of elements not required to prove a violation of the election laws. The offenses under Title 18 thus stand wholly apart and separate from any violation of the federal election laws. The defendants' contention that they were improperly prosecuted under Title 18 is without support. E. The Orders of Restitution 55 Finally, the defendants challenge the amounts of restitution that they were ordered to pay. The defendants were properly convicted, and there was ample evidence by which the trial court could accurately calculate the amounts of the restitution orders. There was testimony as to the amount of money paid in political contributions, the amount of money given to employees as pay raises, and the amount of money paid as reimbursement for contributions under the guise of legitimate business expenses. The trial court did not err in the amounts of the restitution orders.