Romine v. State

722 S.W.2d 494, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 9269
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 11, 1986
DocketA14-84-00726-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 722 S.W.2d 494 (Romine v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Romine v. State, 722 S.W.2d 494, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 9269 (Tex. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinions

OPINION

ROBERTSON, Justice.

This is an appeal from a conviction for misapplication of fiduciary property. The jury rejected appellant’s plea of not guilty and assessed punishment at confinement for ten years, for which it recommended probation, and a fine of ten thousand dollars. Appellant presents twelve points of error which are grouped into complaints concerning: (1) the indictment, (2) the sufficiency of the evidence, (3) the restitution order and (4) the verdict. We affirm.

The evidence shows appellant had worked in the insurance business for a number of years and in 1974 the company he was working for began selling Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s). In 1980 he desired to sell IRA’s on his own, and believing that “an institution other than an insurance company could do a better job servicing an IRA primarily because of the restrictions placed on insurance companies by statutes,” he located and purchased a “1303-B charter trust company” which had been established in 1954 but had been inactive for some years. Appellant reactivated the company under the name “American Bankers Trust Company” (ABT). In September 1980 appellant began offering IRA’s for sale through ABT. Until enjoined from further sales in late 1982, approximately 3500 persons had purchased IRA’s from appellant’s company for a total sum of nearly $3,736,000. In the beginning, appellant acted as ABT’s only salesman. In fact, he personally made all of the sales alleged in the indictment and proven at trial.

The allegations in the indictment concerned the purchase by four separate individuals (Delia Assolin,1 Wanda Meyer, Eric T. Luker and Carl F. Norman) of IRA’s from appellant. The jury was warranted in finding that in offering the IRA’s for sale to the purchasers, appellant first telephoned a prospective customer. When invited, he personally called upon the prospective customer telling them he represented ABT and that “they were setting up individual retirement accounts.” He would then explain the benefits of such an account, including the amount of money the purchaser would have at the end of a certain period of time and that the amount of money deposited each year was deductible from their Federal Income Tax. He further represented that the interest rate on the IRA’s purchased through ABT was the highest available. There was never any discussion of “custodial fees.” Each of the persons named in the indictment signed a draft authorization so that monthly payments could be made directly to ABT from their bank account. While appellant had each of the investors sign and initial several documents, the only documents he left with them were a schedule representing what a purchaser of an IRA who continued to make annual payments could have in his account at given ages and a receipt for the money the purchaser paid that day. There[498]*498after, appellant mailed each purchaser a packet of papers. Within that packet was a form which each purchaser had signed at the meeting with appellant, acknowledging that the “custodial fees” for ABT were 80% of the first year deposits, 2% of the deposits of years two through ten and 1% each year thereafter. It was shown that none 'of the purchasers of the IRA’s realized they had signed such an agreement and would not have knowingly done so.

It was shown that ABT was not authorized by the Internal Revenue Service or the Treasury Department to act as a non-bank trustee or custodian of individual retirement accounts. It was further shown that ABT was not an insured member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and that the company was not, nor had ever been, “chartered, registered or licensed as a banking institution in Texas.”

Finally, banking records covering over two years were introduced into evidence. An audit of the records showed: deposits were made to the ABT account of almost $3,376,000; approximately $690,172.40 of the deposits “was directed to Mr. Romine (appellant) or his family;” approximately $117,000 was returned to investors; a certificate of deposit for approximately $150,-000; and that the remainder of the money “went mostly for operating expenses, some personal withdrawals and salaries ... commission, overhead.”

In his first point of error appellant contends the court erred in overruling his motion to quash the indictment “on the basis of misjoinder.” Citing Drake v. State, 686 S.W.2d 935 (Tex.Crim.App.1985) and Ex parte Siller, 686 S.W.2d 617 (Tex.Crim.App.1985), appellant argues that the state “may not join in a single indictment two or more separate and distinct statutory penal offenses.” For the reasons stated below, we hold those cases inapplicable to the facts of this case.

The indictment contained a total of 190 unnumbered paragraphs. Paragraphs 1 through 62 alleged, alternately, theft and misapplication of fiduciary property belonging to Delia Assolin on thirty-one separate monthly occasions beginning September 5, 1980, and ending March 5, 1983. Paragraphs 63 through 88 alleged, alternately, theft and misapplication of fiduciary property belonging to Wanda Meyer on thirteen separate monthly occasions beginning July 15, 1981, and ending May 5, 1982. Paragraphs 89 through 144 alleged, alternately, theft and misapplication of fiduciary property belonging to Eric T. Luker on twenty-eight separate monthly occasions beginning October 20, 1980, and ending January 20, 1983. Finally, paragraphs 145 through 190 alleged, alternately, theft and misapplication of fiduciary property belonging to Carl F. Norman on twenty-three separate monthly occasions beginning January 8, 1981, and ending November 20, 1982. The two concluding paragraphs of the indictment alleged:

And the Grand Jury do further present that all of the amounts alleged above were stolen from the above complainants, DELIA ASSOLIN, WANDA MEYER, ERIC T. LUKER, and CARL F. NORMAN, pursuant to one scheme and continuing course of conduct and the aggregate amount so stolen was over ten thousand dollars.
And the Grand Jury do further present that all of the amounts alleged above, owned by DELIA ASSOLIN, WANDA MEYER, ERIC T. LUKER, and CARL F. NORMAN, were misapplied, pursuant to one scheme and continuing course of conduct and the aggregate amount so misapplied was over ten thousand dollars.

It is clear that the indictment alleged and the charge required the jury to find that appellant either stole or misapplied the amounts of money in one continuous scheme. Tex.Penal Code Ann. §§ 31.09 and 32.03 (Vernon 1974) state:

When amounts are obtained in violation of this chapter pursuant to one scheme or continuing course of conduct, whether from the same or several sources, the conduct may be considered as one offense and the amounts aggregated in determining the grade of the offense.

[499]*499The court of criminal appeals has held that Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 31.09 (Vernon 1974) “creates one offense;” therefore, we hold that aggregation under Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 32.03 (Vernon 1974) likewise creates one offense. See Brown v. State, 640 S.W.2d 275 (Tex.Crim.App.1982) and cases cited therein.

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Bluebook (online)
722 S.W.2d 494, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 9269, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/romine-v-state-texapp-1986.