By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//April 9, 2013//
United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Criminal
Wire Fraud — sufficiency of the evidence
Where an attorney assisted two buyers in fraudulently buying five homes in a short period of time, the evidence was sufficient to convict her of wire fraud.
“Overall, the jury learned that Westerfield had helped two individuals purchase five homes in a short period of time with financing from different lenders at high loan-to-value ratios. She rushed the buyers and sellers—who were clueless and obviously fake—through the closing process and then gave the mortgage proceeds to a third party. Based on this evidence, a reasonable jury could conclude that if Westerfield had been unaware that she was facilitating an illegal scheme, she only lacked such knowledge because she was deliberately ignorant. See Carrillo, 435 F.3d at 779-80. The district court therefore did not err in denying Westerfield’s motion for judgment of acquittal.”
Affirmed.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Der-Yeghiayan, J., Manion, J.