United States v. Andrew Katakis

The Government appeals the district court’s order granting Katakis’s Fed. R.Crim.P. 29 motion. The district court vacated Katakis’s conviction and entered a judgment of acquittal, holding that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict. The Government’s theory of liability collapsed during trial, and the Government now raises several alternative theories to try and rescue the conviction. The evidence was insufficient to show that Katakis actually deleted electronic records or files. Further, proving Katakis moved emails from an email client’s inbox to the deleted items folder does not demonstrate Katakis actually concealed those emails within the meaning of § 1519. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

This case arises from an investigation by federal authorities into a scheme to rig bids at foreclosure auctions in 2008 and 2009. By 2010, the investigation focused on Andrew Katakis as one of the primary real estate investors helming the conspiracy. On September 1, 2010, Katakis received a letter from his bank informing him that federal investigators had subpoenaed his bank records. On September 3, 2010, Katakis purchased, downloaded, and installed a program called…