Amlani

Altai Amlani appeals his conviction and sentence for wire fraud and conspiracy. This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We find that Amlani’s contention regarding disparagement of counsel, if established as true in an evidentiary hearing, justifies a new trial. We find that none of Amlani’s other contentions warrants reversal of his conviction or sentence. Accordingly, we REMAND this case for further findings regarding allegations of disparagement of Amlani’s original counsel.

BACKGROUND

Amlani was the president and owner of Finer Images (“FI”), a telemarketing company from the Los Angeles area. FI’s employees would tell prospective customers that they were eligible for valuable prizes, such as cars, cash, a home entertainment center, and/or jewelry. To claim their prize (or prizes), the customers were told they needed to buy advertising specialties, such as pens, T-shirts, and key chains, which were imprinted with the customer’s business name, address, and phone number. These purchases ostensibly would eliminate gift taxes by making the prize a promotional award rather than a gift.

FI’s sales pitches misrepresented the customers’ chance of winning the grand…