United States v. Christopher Eric McNeil

This is a. case of identity theft. Defendant-appellant Christopher Eric McNeil stole the identity of a real person, Ian P. Doe, a resident of New Hampshire, to obtain a fraudulent federal tax refund. Doe had nothing to do with the fraud or events underlying this case. Following a jury trial, McNeil was convicted of one count of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344 (2), and one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 . He moved the district court for a judgment of acquittal pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 29, which was denied. This appeal ensued.

Because we conclude that McNeil’s convictions for bank and wire fraud are sound, we affirm the district court.

I. Standard of Review

We review de novo the district court’s ruling on McNeil’s motion for a judgment of acquittal, United States v. Hardy, 289 F.3d 608, 612 (9th Cir.2002), and its interpretation of the elements of the criminal statute. See United States v. Carranza, 289 F.3d 634, 642 (9th Cir.2002). We review the sufficiency of the evidence to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 ,…