United States v. Turner
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
551 F.3d 657 (2008)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Turner (defendant) was the director of the Division of Physical Services for the Illinois secretary of state’s office. Turner supervised three night janitors who devised a scheme to take substantial unauthorized leave and still collect their full salaries. Turner assisted the janitors in avoiding detection by their immediate supervisors by intervening when the supervisors began to closely watch the three janitors. Turner also reprimanded building managers and told them to leave the lead night janitor and his crew alone. The Division of Physical Services, the inspector general, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated investigations following complaints about the unsanitary conditions in the building that the three janitors were assigned to clean. The lead night janitor cooperated with the FBI and recorded conversations with Turner. FBI agents questioned Turner twice, and on both occasions, he denied having deliberately ignored what the janitors were doing and having reprimanded their supervisors for checking on them. Turner claimed to have only recently learned about the scheme. When FBI agents interviewed Turner, they had recorded conversations that contradicted Turner’s interview responses. Turner was charged with wire fraud and making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Turner was convicted, and argued on appeal that the evidence at trial was insufficient to prove that his false statements were material because the FBI agents already knew the answers to the questions they asked him.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Sykes, J.)
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