United States v. Marvin L. Wiseman, United States of America v. William D. Mett
Opinion
Opinion
Hall, J.
Marvin L. Wiseman and William D. Mett (“Defendants”) were convicted in 1997 of embezzling money from a pension benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). This court reversed their convictions on appeal and remanded for a new trial. United States v. Mett, 178 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir.1999). After the district court rejected Defendants’ proposed jury instructions, Defendants waived a trial by jury and agreed to a bench trial on the transcripts and exhibits of the first trial. Defendants were again convicted on all counts. They now appeal their convictions and sentences. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for resentencing.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The following facts are taken from this court’s opinion in Defendants’ appeal from their first trial:
United States v. Mett, 178 F.3d at 1060-61 (footnotes in original).
Finding that the admission of certain documents and testimony violated Defendants’ attorney-client privilege, this court reversed their convictions and remanded for a new trial. Id. at 1067 . The court also rejected Defendants’ “authorization” and “participant benefit” defenses to the pension fund embezzlement charges. Id. at 1067-68…