United States v. Michael David Booth, United States of America v. Louis Robert Bories, United States of America v. Michael David Booth

CANBY, Senior Judge.

Louis Bories and Michael Booth were convicted of wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343 , and Booth was also convicted of money laundering, 18 U.S.C. § 1956 . Both now appeal, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence as well as a variety of the district court’s evidentiary rulings and sentencing determinations. We affirm both defendants’ convictions and the district court’s evidentiary rulings. We also affirm Bories’ sentence. We vacate Booth’s sentence and remand for resentencing, however, because Booth was not given sufficient notice of the grounds that the district court relied upon for an upward departure in his sentence.

Facts and Procedural Background

Booth and Bories began working for LeasX, Inc. (“LeasX”) in mid-1997. At that time, LeasX was apparently a legitimate business, offering brokering and discounting services to businesses seeking to lease durable equipment. LeasX would find investors willing to buy the desired equipment and lease it to LeasX’s clients. Shortly after Booth and Bories joined the organization, the owners of LeasX sold their interests to Booth. As owner, Booth was effectively in charge of the operation; his nominal position,…