United States v. Kenneth Moore

MEMORANDUM

Kenneth Moore appeals his jury conviction and sentence for conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering. We have jurisdiction over Moore’s appeal of the jury verdict under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and over Moore’s appeal of his sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3742 (a).

Moore did not move for judgment of acquittal, so the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction is reviewed for plain error. United States v. DeGeorge, 380 F.3d 1203, 1216-17 (9th Cir.2004). Moore’s sole argument regarding sufficiency of the evidence is that the government failed to prove that he had the specific intent to defraud, and therefore the jury could not convict him.

There was ample evidence. For example, after Harrell’s scheme bankrupted Moore’s own construction company, Moore went to work for Harrell and was paid more than $16,000 per month in cash and other benefits to recruit other victims. Moore told victims that there was no risk in investing in the scheme, that no one had ever lost money on the deal, and that he was very happy with the results of his own investment, all of which he knew to be untrue. He was caught on tape approving Harrell’s plan to create shell companies to avoid…