United States v. Mark Phillips

Mark Phillips, the former CEO of MOD Systems, Inc. (“MOD”), appeals from his conviction on four counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and two counts of money laundering. These seven counts related to the same basic scheme: Phillips’s successful plan to fraudulently obtain funds from MOD and use those funds for his personal benefit. After a jury trial, the district court sentenced Phillips to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In his appeal, Phillips argues that his mail fraud and money laundering convictions should be reversed, that he should be granted a new trial because of Government misconduct during closing arguments, and that a condition of his supervised release should be stricken. The Government also cross-appeals and argues that the district court erred in rejecting the Government’s application to enter a $100,000 in personam forfeiture judgment against Phillips. We reverse the mail fraud conviction and the district court’s decision to deny the Government’s forfeiture application, but we affirm the district court in all other respects.

In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence for the mail fraud and money laundering…