United States v. Feng Juan Lu

MEMORANDUM **

Feng Juan Lu appeals the district court’s denial of her motion to quash a grand jury subpoena ordering production of the business records of her companies. The district court held that her single-member limited liability companies (“LLCs”) are collective entities and thus not entitled to Fifth Amendment protection. Lu argues that her single-member LLCs are more similar to the business structures of sole practitioners, not collective entities, and are therefore entitled to Fifth Amendment protection.

The Fifth Amendment privilege against compulsory self-incrimination is personal in nature. Bellis v. United States, 417 U.S. 85, 90 , 94 S.Ct. 2179 , 40 L.Ed.2d 678 (1974). Sole proprietorships are entitled to protection under the Fifth Amendment. Id. at 87-88 , 94 S.Ct. 2179 . On the other hand, collective entities do not enjoy this privilege because they are legal entities distinct from their members. Id. at 90, 101 , 94 S.Ct. 2179 . Likewise, an individual who holds records in a representative capacity cannot rely upon the privilege to avoid producing the records of the collective entity. Braswell v. United States, 487 U.S. 99, 108-09 , 108 S.Ct. 2284 , 101 L.Ed.2d…