Jury Instructions

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Laurance H. Freed

Case No.: 17-2816

Officials: BAUER, HAMILTON, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Jury Instructions

It appears that Laurance Freed did everything he could to keep his real estate business alive. Unfortunately for Freed, much of that was illegal. Freed lied to prospective lenders about the availability of collateral and to ensure those lenders remained in the dark about numerous defaults, he lied to the City of Chicago.  A person is liable for aiding and abetting a crime if he takes an affirmative act in furtherance of that offense with the intent of facilitating commission of the offense. Rosemond v. United States, 572 U.S. 65, 71 (2014) (citing Central Bank of Denver, N.A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N.A., 511 U.S. 164, 181 (1994)). Additionally, it is axiomatic that one cannot aid and abet a crime unless a crime was actually committed. See United States v. Motley, 940 F.2d 1079 (7th Cir. 1991). Freed latches onto this requirement and asserts the district court’s aiding and abetting instruction was deficient because it did not require the jury to find a crime was actually committed. The government also proved that Freed entered into loan agreements with no intention of abiding by their terms. We affirm Freed’s convictions for bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344); mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341); wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343); and making false statements to a financial institution (18 U.S.C. § 1014).

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.