United States v. Oudom Somee

MEMORANDUM

Oudom Somee was charged with conspiracy to recruit straw buyers for real property, help the buyers fill out fraudulent mortgage applications to obtain favorable rates, and transfer some of the money escrowed during closings into bank accounts Somee controlled. Somee appeals his convictions for mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and affirm.

The district court excluded Somee’s expert witness, Dr. Kinsora, from testifying about Somee’s claimed diminished mental capacity. The court’s ruling was based on two grounds: first, Somee’s failure to provide a description of “the witness’s opinion, the bases and reasons for those opinions, and the witness’s qualifications[,]” as required by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16; second, Somee’s failure to demonstrate the reliability and soundness of the methodology employed by Dr. Kinsora under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 , 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993). On appeal, Somee provides no argument that the district court erred in its Rule 16 ruling. The issue is therefore waived. This court reviews…