Sufficiency of Evidence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Robert E. Stochel

Case No.: 17-3576

Officials: SYKES and BARRETT, Circuit Judges, and DURKIN, District Judge.

Focus: Sufficiency of Evidence

An Indiana judge appointed Robert Stochel as receiver for Tip Top Supermarkets, Inc., while its proprietors were embroiled in protracted litigation. Over several years Stochel stole more than $330,000 from the receivership. After draining its coffers, Stochel evaded detection by diverting funds from other sources to pay the receivership’s bills. But the scheme was unsustainable. As the litigation and receivership were winding down, the principals suspected that something was amiss and asked the state court to appoint an independent auditor. The judge granted the request and ordered Stochel to turn over the receivership’s files. To delay the day of reckoning, Stochel filed a motion to vacate the order, falsely stating that the receivership had sufficient funds to pay the auditor and claiming that he needed more time to assemble the records. This brought a brief reprieve, but the judge soon realized it was a con and removed Stochel as receiver. Not long after, the auditor uncovered the fraud.

A federal grand jury indicted Stochel for mail fraud. See 18 U.S.C. § 1341. The factual basis for the charge was Stochel’s motion, which he had mailed to the court; the indictment alleged that the motion perpetuated the fraudulent scheme by delaying the detection of Stochel’s embezzlement. A jury found him guilty, and the district judge imposed a sentence of 24 months in prison.

Stochel challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction. He also contests three of the judge’s sentencing determinations: (1) the denial of credit for acceptance of responsibility, see U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(a); (2) the loss amount calculation, see id. § 2B1.1(b)(1)(G); and (3) the application of a two-level enhancement for violating a judicial order, see id. § 2B1.1(b)(9)(C). We affirm across the board. There was plenty of evidence to convict Stochel of mail fraud, and the judge’s sentencing rulings were sound.

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.