United States v. Tom B. Jones

Proceeding pro se, Jones appeals his jury conviction on fifteen counts of making false statements in applications for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan insurance. [ 18 U.S.C. § 1010 ] We affirm.

In the course of his business Jones, a licensed California real estate broker, would often attract real estate purchasers who were not only unable to finance the purchase, but could not qualify for FHA loan insurance. Jones solved the latter problem by causing to be made false representations of the name of the FHA applicant, his income, cash on hand, the length of continuous employment, the prospect of future continuous employment, or any combination of the above, as the situation demanded.

The grand jury charged Jones in 17 counts relating to seven separate real estate transactions. Jones was acquitted on counts five and six and convicted on all others. He was represented by retained counsel at trial.

Jones identifies numerous issues for review, seven of which warrant our discussion.

First, he asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support conviction on any count of the indictment. Of course, we must view the evidence in this case in a light most favorable to…