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By Shari Allison

PublishedUS v. Mullins and US v. Edwards, 2010 WL 2947873 (Colo), 7/29/10 - Convictions and sentence on wire fraud and related charges affirmed. Defendants were real estate agents in Denver who were part of a scheme to defraud the Federal Housing Administration by obtaining mortgages based on bogus documentation. Held: 1) ten year statute of limitations for wire fraud that ?affects a financial institution? applied; all that need be proven is that the scheme expose a financial institution to a new or increased risk of loss, and making loans to unqualified borrowers does that; 2) evidence was sufficient to show that interstate transmission was reasonably foreseeable, given that the defendants knew that FHA headquarters are in Maryland; 3) no abuse of discretion in limiting cross where defendant was afforded plenty of room in crossing witness about cooperation agreement with government; 4) making a false statement to HUD investigators was not a lesser included offense of wire fraud; 5) even assuming right to counsel continued after first indictment on different charges was dismissed, it applied only to the dismissed charges; 6) no error in not giving unanimity instruction that jury be unanimous as to exactly whom defendant aided and abetted; 7) loss calculation not clearly erroneous when based on outstanding loan balance minus foreclosure sale proceeds; 8) no plain error in failure to exclude one transaction from loss calculation; and 9) district court did not shift burden of proof on restitution amount merely by setting it ?in the absence of evidence to the contrary...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on August 11, 2010 (boomark / email).