United States v. Stephen Kow Helen Kim Noi Soo and Hong Tho Luu

The government appeals the district court’s suppression of evidence seized pursuant to a search warrant. We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3731 and affirm.

FACTS

On October 15, 1990, FBI agents entered the offices of the defendants’ business, Hong Kong T.V. Video Program, Inc. (“HK Video”), and seized essentially all of the business’s records, computer hardware and software, files, ledgers, and invoices pursuant to a warrant issued by a magistrate judge based on the affidavit of FBI Special Agent John Gordon.

HK Video enjoys an almost exclusive license to distribute within the United States video cassettes from Hong Kong TVB (“HK T.V.”), a television company in Hong Kong. Gordon’s affidavit alleged that HK Video maintained multiple sets of accounting records, paid falsified invoices submitted by phony corporations, and paid employees under the table, all for the purpose of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service and HK T.V., sending the skimmed profits to fictitious companies in Hong Kong. The affidavit also alleged that when HK Video learned that its license with HK T.V. was in jeopardy and might be awarded instead to H.K. Video’s competitor, Shaw Home Entertainment…