Ryan

MEMORANDUM ***

Michael Ryan was charged in a 17-count indictment for his involvement in a scheme to defraud car renters and insurance companies by billing and overcharging customers of his Thrifty Car Rental agency for windshield replacements which in fact were never replaced. A jury convicted Ryan of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, fourteen counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud. The district court sentenced him to 71 months imprisonment.

At trial, he sought to suppress government evidence derived from renting several vehicles to undercover FBI agents. He also sought to block the testimony of government witnesses on the grounds of the best evidence rule. There is also a claim that the district court erred in calculating the intended loss amount and number of victims for application of the guidelines. We affirm.

According to the evidence adduced at trial, Ryan and his employees would inform customers that Daimler Chrysler, from whom Thrifty National bought its cars, had a policy which did not permit even the slightest nick to a windshield and so Thrifty billed the customers an average of $1,294 for the cost of replacing the “allegedly” damaged…