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Williams: No Organizer Enhancement where Husband was not criminally responsible

By Tim Cone

In U.S. v. Williams, No. 06-15318 (May 16, 2008), the Court affirmed the convictions of a defendant convicted of fraud in connection with the unauthorized use of federal grant moneys to a daycare center, but reversed parts of the sentence.Reviewing for plain error, the Court rejected Williams? Double Jeopardy claim that her conviction for theft of federal funds was duplicative of her conviction for wire fraud. Applying the Blockburger test, the Court noted that unlike wire fraud, federal theft involves no use of interstate wires. Thus, the crimes have different elements.The Court also rejected the argument that the seven counts of wire fraud were multiplicitous. The Court pointed out that wire fraud punishes separately each execution of a scheme, and the government was therefore justified in charging Williams for each time funds were wired into Williams? account as a result of her fraud...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on May 16, 2008 (boomark / email).