Opinion ID: 70138
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Count Five: The Substantive Count

Text: 40 Cannon argues the evidence cannot support a conviction on Count V pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1001. We agree. 41 The government had to prove Cannon knowingly and willfully falsified, concealed or covered up by trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or made false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations, or made or used any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1001. 42 The government charged in the indictment that Cannon violated Sec. 1001 because he used and caused to be used a Form DD 250[.] Despite the verdict, as a matter of law, the government failed to prove the DD 250 forms were false. The government argues that when [the contractor] submits the document [DD 250, he] is telling the government that he has manufactured the items according to the government specifications, and that he is ready to deliver them so that he can be paid. Appellee's Br. at 25. Nowhere on the DD 250 does Cannon or anyone at Space Age certify that the parts supplied conform to the contract. Rather, the government QAR signs the form signifying acceptance and conformance of the goods. 43 The government argues Cannon caused the QAR to make a false statement by presenting the DD 250 forms, representing to him that the contracts had been performed to specifications, and having the QAR sign the DD 250, accepting the items and certifying that they met the contract specifications. See id. at 25-26. We disagree. 44 The government's only shred of evidence to show the QAR signed the DD 250 forms because of false representations was the QAR's testimony that he would not have signed the DD 250 unless he'd been presented with a document certifying the titanium as ballistically tested. Agent Phillips, however, testified that when the government seized the file for the contract charged in Count V, the only certification form it contained showed no signs of tampering and was for nonballistically tested titanium. (R3-61-62). Although the titanium did not conform, the documents did not lie. It was through the failure of the QAR to perform an adequate review that the nonconforming material was certified. 45 Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, see Glasser, 315 U.S. 60, 62 S.Ct. 457, including all reasonable inferences and credibility judgments, we hold that no reasonable trier of fact, when choosing among reasonable constructions of this evidence, could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of using false documents or representations to defraud the government. See Kelly, 888 F.2d at 740. The district court reversibly erred when it denied Cannon's motion for judgment of acquittal on Count V.