Opinion ID: 455812
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: background facts and issues

Text: 2 The evidence at trial established that Black sold tax shelters involving commodity straddles in treasury bill (T-Bill) and silver futures. Black represented to investors that Oxford Investment Management Company (Oxford), an independent commodity brokerage house located in the Cayman Islands, would actually conduct the straddle transactions. There was evidence that Oxford never made the promised futures transactions. Instead, Black diverted funds invested in Oxford to his own use and benefit. He manufactured the confirmation slips and other records documenting the purported transactions at his office in Portland, Oregon. 3 Black was convicted after a jury trial. The district judge sentenced Black to a combined total of 8 years imprisonment based on one mail fraud and one false tax return count. The district judge also imposed fines totalling $114,000 and costs of prosecution in the amount of $28,291.91. As a condition of probation on the remaining counts, the judge ordered Black to make restitution in an amount not to exceed $787,000. 1 4 On appeal, Black does not attack the sufficiency of the evidence underlying the convictions. Rather, he alleges that the district court erred in the following four respects. These are: (1) that the district court erred in failing to order the prosecutor to send a corrective letter informing prospective witnesses that they had no obligation to speak with either defense or prosecution attorneys; (2) that the district court should have suppressed evidence obtained from Ms. Grace George; (3) that the district court should not have admitted certain documents pertaining to Oxford and the testimony relating to them; and (4) that the district court erred in ordering restitution in an amount in excess of the specific dollar amounts alleged in the indictment. As indicated above, we find merit only in the last contention. We shall discuss each separately, however.