Abuse of Discretion

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Michele DiCosola

Case No.: 16-3497

Officials: POSNER, MANION, and KANNE, Circuit Judges

Focus: Abuse of Discretion

By all accounts, Michele DiCosola was, until 2007, a legitimate business owner. But when the crash came, he engaged in loan fraud and tax fraud in order to make ends meet. While his personal story is unfortunate, it does not excuse his criminal conduct. Because we find no abuse of discretion in any of the district court’s rulings on appeal, we AFFIRM Michele DiCosola’s conviction and restitution orders.

With respect to his loan fraud conviction, DiCosola challenges the district court’s denial of his motion for a new trial on multiple grounds relating to the testimony of his accountant, John Cerami. He also raises an unrelated charge that the government did not correct a false statement by a government witness during cross‐examination. Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264, 269 (1957). Each of these arguments fails to demonstrate any abuse of discretion by the district court, and so we affirm the conviction.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.