United States v. Richard Plache James Attarian

Richard Piache (“Piache”) and James At-tarian (“Attarian”) separately appeal their convictions for numerous counts of mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (1988), sale of an unregistered security, 15 U.S.C. §§ 77e, 77x (1988), and aiding and abetting such acts, 18 U.S.C. § 2 (1988). Piache and At-tarian contend the district court failed to exclude a juror for cause, who allegedly held an implied employment bias, and erroneously denied their motions to exclude evidence under the attorney-client privilege. Further, Piache challenges the denial of his motion to sever and the sufficiency of the evidence for mail fraud. Finally, Attarian argues a special assessment was erroneously imposed at sentencing. We affirm.

I. Background

This action arose over the defendants’ roles during 1982-85 in an arbitrage trading investment plan called ELMAS Trading Program, which the Government contends was a Ponzi scheme. Attarian was a director and one of the principals of the ELMAS Trading Corporation, and Piache was a member of its Advisory Council and the most successful salesman of the EL-MAS Program.

The indictment charged five individuals, three of whom are not part of this appeal, with violations of…