United States v. David Prince

MEMORANDUM

David Boyer Prince appeals his jury conviction and sentence imposed for five counts of wire fraud. His convictions stem from his involvement with three investment entities: MJE Invest!, Dawnstar Alliance, and the Leopard Fund. He was sentenced to eighty-four months imprisonment. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

1. Prince challenges the admission into evidence of a heavily redacted cease and desist order from the Texas State Securities Board. Even if the district court abused its discretion in admitting the order, any error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence against Prince. See United States v. Romero, 282 F.3d 683, 688 (9th Cir.2002) (“If we conclude that a Rule 404(b) violation occurred, we reverse only if the error was not harmless.”).

2. Prince challenges the district court’s denial of his motion to compel use immunity for a potential defense witness, Dr. Lance Lee. Dr. Lee appeared at Prince’s trial and, outside the presence of the jury, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. In general, a defendant is not entitled to compel the government to grant use immunity to potential defense witnesses…