United States v. Nabil S. Al Mudarris, and Salah S. Al Mudarris

Appellants seek to have us overturn their conviction for mail fraud against a medical insurance carrier. They contend that prosecutorial misconduct before the grand jury necessitated dismissal of their indictment.

I. FACTS

Appellants Nabil and Salah A1 Mudarris are brothers. Salah had medical insurance, Nabil did not.

On Christmas Eve 1974 a man later identified as Salah, but using a false name, delivered a severely burned man to the hospital. The patient, later identified as Nabil, was admitted as Salah.

Nabil’s wife later testified that Salah told her this was done for insurance purposes. Salah signed insurance claims for the patient’s treatment as though Salah himself had received it. These claims, which amounted to more than $25,000, were processed by mail.

The government sought a mail fraud indictment against appellants and a treating doctor who knew them before the injury. Grand juries heard testimony but their terms expired before an indictment was returned. The indicting grand jury, in one afternoon, heard only a summary witness, an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), and returned the indictment.

That morning, this grand jury had heard…