United States v. A.G.E. Enterprises, Inc.

*442 MEMORANDUM

Appellants A.G.E. Enterprises, Inc. and A.G.E. Corporation, Inc. (collectively “A.G.E.”) and Shirley Colletti (“Colletti”) appeal their jury convictions for wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 , and RICO activities, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c) and (d) and 18 U.S.C. § 1963 . Appellants contend that there were various errors in the proceedings below.

A. Bankruptcy Fraud Not Necessary for Wire Fraud Convictions

The superceding indictment is very specific with respect to the wire fraud charged in Counts Eight through Twenty-Eight. Although the counts incorporate by reference the factual allegations of Count Four, which detail Joseph Con-forte’s (“Conforte”) use of the wires to commit bankruptcy fraud, the counts also allege a separate scheme to defraud the IRS, including specific details as to appellants’ involvement in the scheme. For example, the indictment describes how A.G.E. was created solely to hide Con-forte’s Mustang Ranch income from the IRS. The superceding indictment alleges that the defendants, including Colletti, would, at Conforte’s directions, wire money from A.G.E.’s accounts in the United States to foreign accounts for…