United States v. Richard J. Adamson

Richard J. Adamson was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (a)(1) (A) (i). He appeals, contending, inter alia, that the district court erred by (1) restricting his cross-examination of a key government witness and (2) broadening the scope of the indictment. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.

BACKGROUND

1. The Business Plan

From 1992 through 1999, Richard Adamson and his brother John (collectively “the Adamsons”) owned and operated “Hardwarehouse,” a Dallas, Texas company, which sold used computer equipment, including computer servers. In 1995, Hardwarehouse began purchasing used Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) 3000 and 9000 series servers from Deborah Balón, the head of HP’s Finance and Remarketing Division (“FRD”). Balón sold used HP servers to Hardwarehouse through a bidding process in which Hardwarehouse was the only bidder. During the course of their business relationship, the Adamsons provided Balón and her fiancé, Marc Loriau, with numerous personal gifts including cash, international vacations, and luxury items. At trial, the government offered testimony tending to show that the Adam-sons were bribing…