Sufficiency of Evidence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Jeffrey J. Wilson

Case No.: 17-1076

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and RIPPLE and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges

Focus: Sufficiency of Evidence

A grand jury indicted Jeffrey Wilson, in a twenty-one-count indictment, with the following offenses: (1) fraud in connection with the purchase or sale of securities, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) and 78ff, and 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5 (Count 1); (2) fraud in the offer or sale of securities, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §§ 77q(a) and 77x, and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Count 2); (3) material false statements in required Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 78ff and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Counts 3–9); (4) wrongful certification of annual and quarterly reports by a corporate officer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1350(c)(1) (Counts 10–14); (5) material false statements by a corporate officer to an accountant, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §§ 78m(b)(5) and 78ff, 17 C.F.R. §§ 240.13b2-2(a) and 240.13b2-2(b), and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Counts 16–17 and 19–20); and (6) false statements to Government.

A jury convicted Mr. Wilson on all charges. He then filed a motion under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29(c) for acquittal on all counts, contending that the Government had failed to present evidence sufficient to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The district court denied the motion. It then sentenced Mr. Wilson to 120 months’ imprisonment for Counts 1, 3–14, 16–17, and 19–20, and to 60 months’ imprisonment for Counts 2 and 21, all to run concurrently. The court also imposed 18 months’ supervised release per count, each to be served concurrently. The court ordered Mr. Wilson to pay $16,468,769.73 in restitution and a $1,900 assessment.

Mr. Wilson now appeals and renews his challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. He contends that the Government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had the requisite mens rea to commit the charged offenses. After hearing oral argument and carefully examining the record, we cannot accept this argument. None of Mr. Wilson’s contentions reach the high threshold of showing that a reasonable jury could not have found him guilty. When viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the evidence adequately supports the jury’s finding that Mr. Wilson acted knowingly and willfully when making false statements to investors, regulators, an outside accountant, and Government agents. It also supports the reasonable inference that Mr. Wilson was aware of and participated in a fraudulent tax scheme called “Alchemy.” Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

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.