United States v. Crystal Mason, Edward Young

Edward Young and his wife Crystal Mason were charged as principals and aiders and abettors in four counts of bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344 (a)(2), 2 (1988) and also were charged with being principals and aiders and abettors in the use of interstate commerce in the aid of racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1952 (a)(3) and 2 (1988). They were convicted on all counts.

Young and Mason ran two escort services in Philadelphia that involved prostitution. The gravamen of these offenses is that charges on credit cards for services were fraudulently factored through a third-party out of state. This third-party imprinted a fictitious business name and deposited the credit card slips with a bank, concealing the fact that the slips were actually for an out-of-state escort business. The major issue raised in defense at trial was that Young and Mason contended that they were operating their business during the times in question under the authorization of an FBI agent who was using them as informants. The primary issue on appeal is whether the jury was appropriately instructed upon this theory of defense. We find that Young and Mason proposed an appropriate instruction and…