18 USC 1341 and 1343: Mail and Wire Fraud Do Not Require Allegations of Pecuniary Harm or Economic Loss

USA v. Steven Fenzl. No. 11-2459.

Fenzl is part-owner of Company U, an Illinois corporation engaged in the business of refurbishment and repair of refuse disposal containers. The government alleges that Fenzl engaged in a scheme to defraud the City of Chicago (the “City”) of money and property...

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USSG and Double Counting: Impermissible Only When Text of the Applicable Guideline Specifically Says So

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DAVID VIZCARRA and ROGELIO AGUIRRE. Nos. 09-1174, 09-2457.

David Vizcarra and Rogelio Aguirre committed a kidnapping for ransom to extract payment of a drug debt, abducting the victim in Indiana, taking her to Illinois, and holding her for two days before...

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FRE 902(11). Boilerplate Rules for Admission of Certified Business Records

USA v. James Green. 09-3098.

The government charged defendant James Green with four counts of wire fraud. His cousin, co-defendant Joseph Green, recruited Green to purchase properties in exchange for cash. Throughout the trial, Green argued that he was a victim of the fraudulent scheme, left holding the...

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Entrapment: IMPORTANT! Court Must Consider Defendant’s Predisposition Before Government Inducement

USA v. Israel Pillado, Irineo Gonzalez, and Leobardo Lara, 10-1081, 10-1083 &10-1202.

A law enforcement operation that began with the promising interdiction of 943 kilograms of marijuana, shipped from Jalisco, Mexico, ended less than admirably.

When government agents executed a “controlled delivery” to an...

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