United States v. Taryn Johnston

MEMORANDUM

A husband and wife, Frank and Taryn Johnston, were convicted on 27 different counts. Frank Johnston was charged with wire fraud in Counts 1-22, with theft of government property in Count 23, with obstruction of justice in Count 26, and with making false statements in Count 27. Taryn Johnston was charged in Counts 24 and 25 with making false statements. Defendants were tried together in the same trial on Counts 1-23 and Counts 24 and 25 and found guilty on all counts. Frank Johnston was tried in a separate trial on Counts 26 and 27 and found guilty. Defendants appeal all of their convictions. We have jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

We address defendants’s challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence underlying their convictions, considering whether “after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Nevils, 598 F.3d 1158, 1163-64 (9th Cir.2010) (en banc) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 , 99 S.Ct. 2781 , 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). First, regarding Counts 1-23, Frank Johnston contends that any…