United States v. Ezri Namvar

MEMORANDUM

Defendants Ezri Namvar and Hamid Tabatabai appeal their convictions for four counts of wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 . We affirm Namvar’s convictions. We reverse Tabatabai’s convictions and remand for a new trial.

I

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, a reasonable juror could conclude that Namvar was engaged in a material scheme to defraud certain clients who used Namco Financial Exchange (NFE) as a qualified intermediary, by transferring their funds out of NFE accounts for investment or other uses without the clients’ authorization. See, e.g., United States v. Jones, 472 F.3d 1136, 1139-40 (9th Cir.2007). The government did not need to prove that Namvar personally made fraudulent omissions or misrepresentations. United States v. Farris, 614 F.2d 634, 638-39 (9th Cir.1979). It adduced ample evidence of Namvar’s knowledge of and participation in the fraudulent scheme, including Nam-var’s authorization of wire transfers removing funds from the NFE accounts. A reasonable juror could have concluded that Namvar had the requisite intent from evidence that Namvar apologized for his actions and admitted wrongdoing to certain clients. See…