Opinion ID: 564814
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 6 Arky first argues that the government put on evidence that was insufficient to establish conspiracy to make false statements in connection with the FHA loans. This court weighs such an argument by reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, so that all reasonable inferences and credibility choices support the jury's verdict. Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942). The conviction must be affirmed if any rational trier of fact could have found that the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Smith, 930 F.2d 1081, 1085 (5th Cir.1991). 7 The statute that Arky is charged with conspiring to violate, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1010, provides a criminal penalty for a person who, for the purposes of obtaining a HUD-insured loan, makes, passes, utters, or publishes any statement, knowing the same to be false. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1010. Arky implies that the loan applications were always either truthful or left blank by the applicants. As no false statements were made, he argues, the conviction for conspiring to violate Sec. 1010 is based on insufficient evidence. 8 Contrary to Arky's assertions, the record contains clear evidence that the straw buyers made false statements when applying for HUD-insured loans. On their loan applications, for instance, several straw buyers stated that they intended to occupy the houses that they were purchasing, when, in fact, they had no intention of occupying the houses. There was also testimony from some straw buyers that Arky told them what ought to be spent on the application forms. Moreover, Arky's ex-partner, Baumstein, testified that the straw buyers were instructed to make untrue statements on the application forms. Consequently, a reasonable juror could have found that Arky conspired with the straw buyers to make false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1010. The evidence was not insufficient.