Jones (Joshua) v. State

• Court: Nevada Supreme Court
• Decided: April 14, 2016
• Docket: 67976
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA

JOSHUA EPHRAIM JONES, No. 67976 Appellant, vs. THE STATE OF NEVADA, Respondent. FILED APR 1 2016

ORDER OF AFFIRMANCE This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction, pursuant to a jury verdict, of unemployment insurance fraud, conspiracy to unlawfully obtain or increase unemployment benefits, and obtaining money under false pretenses. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; Carolyn Ellsworth, Judge. Appellant Joshua Jones contends that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support the jury's finding of guilt for obtaining money under false pretenses. Jones contends that separate acts may not be aggregated under NRS 205.380 and that the State produced evidence of separate acts involving an aggregate amount that exceeded $650, but not of any individual act that exceeded $650. Our review of the record on appeal, however, reveals sufficient evidence to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt as determined by a rational trier of fact. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979); Origel-Candido v. State, 114 Nev. 378, 381,956 P.2d 1378, 1380 (1998). The record shows that Jones discussed his unemployment benefits with his then-girlfriend by phone when he was incarcerated—and thus ineligible to receive unemployment benefits—and directed her to

SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA

(01 1947A (41.40 keep filing his unemployment-benefits claims. She then logged into the unemployment-benefits phone system using his social security number and PIN on a weekly basis and falsely certified his eligibility to continue receiving benefits, received nine weekly payments totaling $1440, and used Jones' unemployment-benefits debit card to access this money. The jury could reasonably infer from the evidence presented that Jones counseled, encouraged, hired, commanded, induced, or otherwise procured another to obtain more than $650 by false pretenses. See NRS 205.380(1). As Jones first raises his aggregation argument on appeal, we will not consider his claim that the individual payments may not be aggregated. State v. Wade, 105 Nev. 206, 209 n.3, 772 P.2d 1291, 1293 n.3 (1989); Merica v. State, 87 Nev. 457, 462, 488 P.2d 1161, 1163-64 (1971). We therefore ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED.

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cc: Hon. Carolyn Ellsworth, District Judge Attorney General/Carson City Clark County Public Defender Attorney General/Las Vegas Clark County District Attorney Eighth District Court Clerk SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 2 (0) I947A