12 results for 'cat:"Fraud" AND cat:"Identity Theft"'.
J. Murphy finds the trial court did not violate defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a jury when it refused to empanel any jurors who were not fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Although a court cannot exclude groups of distinctive individuals, the exclusion of non-vaccinated jurors did not prejudice the jury against defendant and was a decision made to prevent any trial delays in the case of a Covid-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, the government's addition of two identity theft counts to defendant's indictment after he refused a plea agreement did not constitute vindictive prosecution that violated his due process rights. The charges were not used as a threat during negotiations, and defendant was free to accept or reject the plea at any time. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Murphy, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 22-3835, Categories: fraud, Jury, identity Theft
[Consolidated] J. Higginson finds the district court properly convicted and sentenced defendant for aggravated identity theft. Defendant, a police dog trainer, used the identities of trainers in his application for Texas Veterans Commission certification who had not served as trainers for him or given their permission. The evidence in this case supports the trial court’s findings that defendant used identification belonging to the trainers during and in relation to wire fraud in every instance. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginson , Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: 21-50380, Categories: fraud, Sentencing, identity Theft
J. Thapar finds the trial court properly applied a sentencing enhancement for defendant's possession of stolen firearms. All of the guns he purchased with a fake ID and fake credit cards qualify as stolen under the sentencing guidelines. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Thapar, Filed On: November 22, 2023, Case #: 23-1212, Categories: fraud, Sentencing, identity Theft
[Consolidated]. J. Stras finds a lower court improperly estimated the amount of funds a defendant sank into three houses via fake deeds. The government argued that his 41 month sentence is reasonable based on his identity theft crimes and his participation in acquiring bogus notarized deeds along side his co-conspirator. However, the defendant sufficiently showed in court that the government erred in calculating his total offense, which would shaved off at least 20% of the length his sentence, and failed to apply the reasonable estimate of fair market value at the time he unloading properties to unknowing buyers. Reversed in part.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Stras, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: 22-1106, Categories: fraud, identity Theft, Property
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Ripken agrees with the lower court’s decision to classify a crime as a felony after a car buyer used her work supervisor’s identity to fraudulently co-sign a loan to purchase a vehicle. The buyer argues that because a Maryland criminal code does not specify the monetary value regarding the offense, she should only receive a misdemeanor. However, a caption provided by police estimating the value between $1,500 and $25,000 necessarily stands in place of the specificity in the code, and the value of the car is high enough to warrant a felony conviction. Affirmed.
Court: The Appellate Court of Maryland, Judge: Ripken, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: C-22-CR-21-000541, Categories: fraud, identity Theft
[Consolidated.] J. Batchelder finds the trial court properly used the entire amount of money stolen by all of the defendants to establish a base sentencing guideline for each of them. All three coordinated their activities, used the same methods to steal identities and money from several banks, and shared the stolen information amongst themselves, which made each defendant's actions relevant conduct for sentencing purposes. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Batchelder, Filed On: August 23, 2023, Case #: 22-1506, Categories: fraud, Sentencing, identity Theft
J. Covington finds that the district court properly convicted one defendant of health care fraud, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and related offenses for her role in a scheme to defraud insurance companies. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including evidence that she used individuals' identities to refill prescriptions and knew prescriptions were bogus but made no effort to stop fraudulent conduct at the pharmacy. Another defendant was properly convicted of conspiracy, health care fraud and mail fraud but incorrectly convicted of aggravated identity theft. Defendant misrepresented whether a prescription was medically necessary but did not forge the name of a prescribing doctor or misrepresent who would be receiving the prescription. Affirmed in part.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Covington, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 21-11621, Categories: fraud, identity Theft
J. Kirsch finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. The evidence was sufficient to prove that defendant knew the Social Security number he used to apply for multiple loans and credit cards was real. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Kirsch, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 22-1321, Categories: fraud, identity Theft
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the trial court properly ordered restitution be paid by defendant for his participation in a criminal conspiracy that obtained Covid-19 emergency relief funds through the theft of identities used to apply for loans and unemployment insurance. The foreseeable loss as to defendant's role was properly calculated based on transactions conducted by him and other conspirators. The presentence report detailed the total amount deposited into PayPal accounts from the agencies at $2.3 million and recommended that defendant be held responsible for that amount. Though other conspirators have absconded, a single participant is responsible for all actions committed in furtherance of the crime. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 22-30289, Categories: Evidence, fraud, identity Theft
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court properly revoked defendant’s supervised release, sentencing her to the statutory maximum. Defendant was convicted by guilty plea for mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, then committed the same crimes during her release, violating every supervision condition. Though the court erred in allowing initial sentencing considerations, sanctioning the violations as a “breach of the court’s trust” is allowed. Because use of identifying information, fraud and theft underpinned all offenses, and the violations resulted in even greater financial harm, all permissible considerations provide independent support for the violation sentencing. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: July 17, 2023, Case #: 22-10595, Categories: fraud, Probation, identity Theft
J. Sotomayor finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant of identity theft as part of an alleged scheme to overbill Medicaid for psychological testing because using the patient's name on the billing form did not constitute identity theft. Reversed.
Court: US Supreme Court, Judge: Sotomayor, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 22-10, Categories: fraud, identity Theft