By: Derek Hawkins//April 27, 2016//
Case Name: United States of America v. Kenneth W. Lewis
Case No.: 14-2442l 14-2597
Officials: BAUERandWILLIAMS,Circuit Judges, and ADELMAN, * District Judge
Amicus argument disproves allegations of money laundering.
“After the parties filed their respective briefs, but prior to oral argument, the government conceded that it had not presented sufficient evidence that Lewis had in fact laundered money; there was no evidence that he had “engage[d] or attempt[ed] to engage in a monetary transaction using criminally derived property.” 18 U.S.C. § 1957(a); see United States v. McClellan, 794 F.3d 743, 753 (7th Cir. 2015). Accordingly, the government agreed that we should vacate the money laundering conviction, and remand the case for resentencing only on the wire fraud conviction. Because the record is devoid of evidence that Lewis laundered money, we oblige. See, e.g., United States v. Reed, 744 F.3d 519, 527 (7th Cir. 2014) (appellate court will “overturn a verdict for insufficiency of the evidence … if … the record is devoid of evidence from which a rational trier of fact could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt” (citations omitted)).”
Affirmed as to wire fraud conviction
Vacated as to conviction for money laundering
Remanded for resentencing