United States v. Walter Seifert and Jack Ehrlich

Walter Seifert and Jack Ehrlich appeal from judgments of conviction on 19 counts of interstate transportation of property taken by fraud in violation of the first paragraph of 18 U.S.C. § 2314 and one count of conspiracy to commit the same acts in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 . We reverse the conviction of Seifert and affirm the conviction of Ehrlich.

I. The Facts.

Appellants do not argue that their convictions are not supported by the evidence. We therefore state the facts only briefly; additional facts will be stated as necessary.

The indictment charges that in the fall of 1977 Ehrlich, Seifert, and one Joseph Peres, as part of a scheme to defraud their suppliers, established a retail store in Phoenix, Arizona, known as Videoflex. Videoflex was to specialize in the sale of photographic and electronic merchandise. The defendants planned to operate the store in a legitimate manner for a few months for the sole purpose of establishing a credit rating sufficient to induce suppliers to sell large amounts of merchandise to Videoflex on credit. On the pretense of opening a second store, the defendants ordered large quantities of goods on credit. When the defendants received these…