United States v. Walter C. Wencke

Weficke appeals his conviction for mail fraud ( 18 U.S.C. § 1341 ) and making false statements in reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and shareholders (15 U.S.C. §§ 78m, 78n, and 78ff). He contends that prosecutorial misconduct (primarily involving Lipman, a United States Attorney who participated in related civil and criminal proceedings) denied him a fair trial. We affirm.

The convictions stem from a complex scheme of fraud perpetrated by Wencke, along with his codefendants, on shareholders of a publicly-held company. Prior to federal proceedings, Wencke petitioned a Nevada court for a receivership of the pub' lie company. Because Nevada does not require a disinterested receiver, Wencke became the receiver. The public company had been the owner of certain hotels which constituted the major disputed assets. The California Corporation Commissioner appeared in the Nevada litigation, and the SEC also had some limited contact with the Nevada court. The Nevada court found that one of Wencke’s associates, and not Wencke himself, was responsible for the public company’s difficulties.

After the corporation was placed into receivership the SEC commenced an…