United States v. Ronald v. Cloud

Appellant Ronald V. Cloud appeals from his conviction following a jury trial on charges of aiding and abetting bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 1344 (1982 & Supp. IV 1986), and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (1982). Cloud also challenges the district court’s order, entered pursuant to the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3663-3664 (Supp. IV 1986) (“VWPA”), requiring him to pay $7.5 million restitution to the insurance company that compensated the direct victim of the bank fraud at issue in this case. We affirm both appellant’s conviction and the district court order of restitution.

I

The charges in this case stem from the January 1985 sale of the Cal-Neva Lodge, a hotel and casino complex located in the Lake Tahoe area near the California-Nevada border, by Ronald Cloud to Jon R. Per-roton and Cobalt Capitol Corporation, a business association controlled by Perro-ton.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the government, the evidence adduced at trial is as follows. Appellant Ronald Cloud is a sophisticated, 68-year old entrepreneur who has been in business for over forty years. He currently owns companies in…