United States v. Jerry Oren

Oren appeals from his jury verdict convictions of one count of wire fraud and one count of false statement within the jurisdiction of a federal agency. He also appeals from the district court’s sentencing order. We affirm the convictions, but we vacate part of his sentence.

I

In 1978, Oren bought 811 acres of undeveloped land in Agoura, California. This property is adjacent to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

In 1982, Oren was approached by a representative from the Trust for Public Lands (“TPL”) about selling his land. TPL is a non-profit organization that helps the United States Forest Service, the National Park Service, and other government agencies acquire undeveloped land for public parks. TPL aids these government agencies by either buying the land that an agency wishes to obtain or securing an option on such land, while the agency seeks public funding for the acquisition. In this case, the National Park Service desired Oren’s land as an addition to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, but had not yet secured funding. TPL therefore hoped to buy Oren’s land for later resale to the National Park Service when public funds became…