United States v. Bolademi Adetola

MEMORANDUM

Bolademi Adetola appeals her conviction and sentence for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 and substantive healthcare fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1347 . We affirm.

1. The jury’s general verdict did not violate Yates v. United States, 354 U.S. 298, 312 , 77 S.Ct. 1064 , 1 L.Ed.2d 1356 (1957), overruled on other grounds by Burks v. United States, 437 U.S. 1, 8-10 , 98 S.Ct. 2141 , 57 L.Ed.2d 1 (1978). The jury was never instructed that Adetola’s payment of kickbacks was in itself sufficient to sustain a finding of healthcare fraud. Rather, the kickback evidence was introduced to demonstrate Adetola had committed an act in furtherance of the conspiracy and that she knew the prescriptions she had submitted were false. Because the government presented only a single, legally permissible theory of guilt, there is no Yates error. Cf. United States v. Naghani, 361 F.3d 1255, 1260-61 (9th Cir.2004).

2. The prosecution’s isolated references to the fact Medicare is taxpayer-funded were not “designed to appeal to the passions, fears and vulnerabilities of the jury,” and thus did not constitute misconduct. United States v. Weatherspoon,…