Court Opinion

ID: 9822549
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 09:10:27.289437+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:39:07.209493
License: Public Domain

SHEDD, Circuit Judge, concurring:
I concur in judgment of the court. I write separately about the reversal of Rojas-Diaz’s conviction on Count 4, an outcome that likely will not alter his term of imprisonment, to articulate my view of the appropriate analysis of the money laundering conspiracy. In my view, the sufficiency of the evidence on Count 4 turns on whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, a reasonable inference supports finding that Castillo and Rojas-Diaz conspired to use drug proceeds to purchase vehicles — including the Fleetwood trailer listed in Count 4 — to further their illegal drug business. If the Government had proven that Castillo and Rojas-Diaz were in such a conspiracy, it would not matter whether Castillo had knowledge of the specific plan to purchase the Fleetwood trailer. That is, the Government “was not required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt [Castillo’s] participation [with Rojas-Diaz] in any actual financial transaction knowingly using drug trafficking proceeds.” United States v. Green, 599 F.3d 360, 373-74 (4th Cir.2010).
Here, the Government was unable to articulate how such an inference arises from the evidence presented. Accordingly, I concur fully in the judgment of the court.