United States v. Ibrahim Abushi, Mahmud A. Ghanem, Mohammed Eid Awad, and Muti Shuman

Appellants Abushi, Awad, Ghanem, Shu-man, and seven others were indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States through the illegal redemption of food stamp coupons in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 , and the illegal acquisition and redemption of food stamp coupons in violation of 7 U.S.C. § 2024 (b), (c). Appellants were tried jointly, convicted by a jury, and sentenced to imprisonment for terms ranging from six months to five years plus various fines. On appeal, they raise issues involving the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their conspiracy convictions, the district court’s denial of their motion for misjoinder under Fed.R.Crim.P. 8(b) and severance under Fed.R.Crim.P. 14, their entitlement to a judgment of acquittal on the ground of entrapment, and the propriety of various jury instructions. We affirm.

I

In April of 1978, special agents of the Agriculture Department began an investigation into illegal food stamp trafficking at Reno’s Liquor in San Francisco, California. Reno’s Liquor is owned by Ghanem. His two brothers, one of whom is appellant Awad, run the store for him. Between April 4, 1978 and May 6, 1978, Special Agents Lee and Cotton sold various…