United States v. Kuldip Singh Mundi

Kuldip Singh Mundi appeals his convictions for twenty-five counts of wire fraud, one count of selling stolen property and one count of conspiracy. The charges stem from a complex scheme, allegedly devised and executed by Mundi, in which he performed unauthorized and fraudulent exchanges of airline tickets purchased in Nigeria for tickets on airlines operating in the United States. He raises a number of objections to the proceedings below. We have considered each and affirm his convictions, except as to one count.

A. The McNally Claim

Mundi claims first that the district court’s instructions to the jury on the wire fraud counts failed to conform to the standard established by McNally v. United States, 483 U.S. 350 , 107 S.Ct. 2875 , 97 L.Ed.2d 292 (1987), and Carpenter v. United States, 484 U.S. 19 , 108 S.Ct. 316 , 98 L.Ed.2d 275 (1987). We review a claim of error in a jury instruction by looking to “the adequacy of the entire charge ... in the context of the whole trial.” United States v. Marabelles, 724 F.2d 1374, 1382 (9th Cir.1984). We review de novo the question whether the instructions correctly explained the law and the elements of fraud. United States v. Stenberg, 803…