United States v. Oscar Reina

Appellant was found guilty by a jury of violating 18 U.S.C. § 2314 on three occasions. Section 2314 provides, in relevant part:

No attack is made on the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s conclusion that appellant engaged in a scheme to defraud and, in the execution of that scheme, induced victims to travel in interstate commerce. Instead, appellant contends that the district' court erred in refusing his “civil fraud” instruction and, in particular, that the Government was required to prove that each of the victims relied on the false representations and was deceived by them.

The district court correctly rejected the proffered instruction. Reliance or actual deception is not an element of the Government’s case under Section 2314. What the statute prohibits is (1) the devising of a scheme or artifice to defraud or obtain money by false pretenses or representations and (2) causing or inducing an intended victim to travel in interstate commerce with intent to defraud that person of money or property having a value of $5,000 or more. Cases under the Mail Fraud Statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1341 , which prohibits the devising of a scheme or ar tifice to defraud and use of the…