Sunday, November 17, 2013

United States v. Loscalzo case brief

United States v. Loscalzo case brief summary
18 F.3d 374 (1994)


CASE SYNOPSIS
Five defendants appealed their convictions and sentences in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Rock Island Division, for conspiracy to defraud the United States and 31counts of mail fraud. Defendants conspired to obtain a minority enterprise contract with the U.S. Postal Service by establishing corporations with a nonparticipating minority person listed as a figurehead president.

CASE FACTS
Five defendants were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and mail fraud, based on fraudulent representations made in obtaining a minority enterprise contract with the United States Postal Service. Defendants were found to have established corporations with a minority person listed as a figurehead president.

DISCUSSION
  • The court rejected defendants' various arguments and affirmed the district court's convictions and sentences. 
  • The court found sufficient evidence to convict defendants. 
  • Testimony from minority persons who were hired by defendants to act as presidents of their "minority businesses" showed that the presidencies were never intended to be anything but decorative and that both companies were, in reality, nonminority businesses designed to take advantage of the premium prices which the government was willing to pay to promote minority entrepreneurship. 
  • The court also rejected defendants' challenges to their sentences and held that, because the government did not get the contracted-for consideration of performance by a minority operation, using the difference between a true minority bid and defendants' bid was a permissible measure of damages.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed the convictions and sentences of five defendants in the district court for conspiracy to defraud the United States and mail fraud. The court found that the evidence was sufficient to support the finding that defendants conspired to obtain a minority enterprise contract by fraudulently establishing corporations whose minority "presidents" were merely figureheads.

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