Awad

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  No. 06-50578 Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  D.C. No.

CR-04-00237-JVS-

AZIZ F. AWAD,

OPINION

Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California James V. Selna, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted November 18, 2008—Pasadena, California

Filed January 12, 2009

Before: Susan P. Graber and Richard R. Clifton, Circuit Judges, and Edward C. Reed, Jr.,* District Judge.

Opinion by Judge Graber

*The Honorable Edward C. Reed, Jr., Senior United States District Judge for the District of Nevada, sitting by designation. COUNSEL

Charles M. Sevilla, San Diego, California, for the defendant- appellant.

Douglas F. McCormick, Assistant United States Attorney, Santa Ana, California, for the plaintiff-appellee.

OPINION

GRABER, Circuit Judge:

Defendant Dr. Aziz F. Awad stands convicted of 24 counts of participating in a scheme to defraud Medicare under 18 U.S.C. § 1347 and four counts of money laundering involving the proceeds of health care fraud under 18…