United States v. Berger
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
224 F.3d 107 (2000)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Stern, Goldstein, Elbaum, and Berger (conspirators) (defendants), residents of a Hasidic Jewish community, were charged with conspiracy to defraud federal agencies by fraudulently obtaining student financial aid, rental subsidies, Social Security benefits, and small-business loans. The evidence at trial established that the conspirators obtained federal student aid by enrolling community residents in a nonexistent school, deceived the accreditation council so that the nonexistent school would receive grants, failed to report income in order to receive larger housing subsidies, disguised property ownership to obtain federal rent payments, and failed to report rental income in order to receive larger federal housing subsidies. The district court instructed the jury that (1) it could find that the single conspiracy charged in the indictment existed if it found that two or more conspirators agreed to accomplish at least one alleged illegal object; (2) if it found that two or more conspirators agreed to accomplish more than one object, it should consider whether the evidence established single or multiple conspiracies; and (3) it should acquit unless it found one of the conspiracies was the one alleged in the indictment. The conspirators were convicted after trial and appealed, arguing that the jury was improperly instructed on the issue of single versus multiple conspiracies and the evidence proved multiple conspiracies rather than the single conspiracy charged in the indictment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Walker, Jr., J.)
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