United States v. Michael James Olsowy

Olsowy appeals his conviction on one count of submitting a false claim to the government in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287 (1982), and three counts of making false statements to a government agency in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (1982).

Facts

In April 1984, the United States Department of Treasury mailed Olsowy a Social Security check in the amount of $581.39. The check was endorsed and cashed. In September 1985, Olsowy submitted a form to Treasury claiming he had never received the check. His claim was reviewed by a Treasury examiner in Washington, D.C., who referred the claim and a photocopy of the original check with endorsement to a handwriting analyst. The handwriting analyst requested additional handwriting samples from Olsowy, but was unable to make a conclusive determination as to the validity of the claim. Eventually, the Treasury Department Claims Adjudication Branch referred Olsowy’s claim to the United States Secret Service field office in San Diego for further investigation.

On February 7, 1986, a Secret Service agent interviewed Olsowy in San Diego and showed him copies of the claim form and check. After giving Olsowy an opportunity to review the documents, the…