United States v. Carlos Ezeta

Defendant Carlos Javier Ezeta was indicted on four counts of financial aid fraud in violation of 20 U.S.C. § 1097 (a). Subsequently, the district court dismissed the indictment after concluding (1) that Eze-ta’s alleged actions did not satisfy the statute and (2) that Ezeta could not have “willfully cause[d]” or aided and abetted another to commit the crimes. The government appeals the dismissal and we must now decide as a matter of first impression whether § 1097(a) requires a defendant to personally receive or exercise control over federally insured funds obtained by fraud. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we now hold that it does not.

I

The allegations are undisputed. Between 2008 and 2011, Ezeta worked as a counselor and professor at the College of Southern Nevada (“CSN”), a community college in Las Vegas. He was the only tenured professor at CSN fluent in both English and Spanish. Both in conjunction with his employment and out of a desire to help the Hispanic community, Ezeta often assisted current and prospective Spanish-speaking students with CSN applications and with selecting courses. But his efforts to “assist” did not end with good advice.…