So, I am very anti-fraud, and I think cheaters should not prosper. But I also think courts should know what they are talking about, especially in criminal cases. The following is from a new Second Circuit case:
Although we review claims of insufficiency de novo, United States v. Harvey, 746 F.3d 87, 89 (2d Cir. 2014), it is well recognized that “a defendant mounting such a challenge bears a heavy burden” because “in assessing whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain a conviction, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, drawing all inferences in the government's favor and deferring to the jury's assessments of the witnesses' credibility.” . . .
[W]e reject Jasmin's challenge to her Hobbs Act conviction. The evidence presented at trial more than sufficiently describes the consideration received by Jasmin in exchange for her official actions as Mayor, including the $5,000 in cash from Stern, “advance” cash for their partnership, and shares in the limited liability corporation that would develop the community center.
United States v. Jasmin, No. 15-2546-CR, 2016 WL 4501977, at *2 (2d Cir. Aug. 29, 2016).
I can't actually figure out exactly what's going on here, but I know a few things: (1) "advance" cash for a partnership probably needs to be assessed more closely because, what partnership? and (2) there should not be shares in a "limited liability corporation." Or maybe there should be, if they just mean "corporation." But I think they mean an LLC, which should provide membership interests. At a minimum, I would love to see a court call people out in such situations for perpetrating frauds with incorrect entity forms. Yeah, I'm that kind of law nerd.