Singleton v. United States

134 F. Supp. 3d 807, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130943, 2015 WL 5724363
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedSeptember 29, 2015
DocketCrim. No. 09-119-SLR; Civ. No. 12-1019-SLR
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 134 F. Supp. 3d 807 (Singleton v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Singleton v. United States, 134 F. Supp. 3d 807, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130943, 2015 WL 5724363 (D. Del. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROBINSON, District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Keith Singleton (“movant”) is a federal inmate currently confined at FCI Beckley in Beaver, West Virginia. Movant timely filed a motion to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. (D.I. 155) The government filed an answer in opposition, and movant filed a reply. (D.I. 172; D.I. 179) For the reasons discussed, the court will deny movant’s § 2255 motion without holding an eviden-tiary hearing.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On December 20, 2009, movant and a co-conspirator, Eugene Watson, were indicted and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 (count one). (D.I. 172 at 2) Movant was also charged with sixteen counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (counts eighteen to thirty-three), and two counts of money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957 (counts thirty-four and thirty-five). The charges stemmed from allegations that from December 2006 through 2008, movant and Watson, along with Carin Seals, an employee of the financial institution Citigroup, defrauded Citigroup out of millions of dollars. The fraud was alleged to have occurred when Seals sent or attempted to send numerous fraudulent wire transfers from internal Citigroup accounts to financial accounts controlled by movant, Watson, and their associates. Id.

On August 18, 2010, the government filed a pre-trial motion in limine to admit 404(b) evidence (“motion in limine”). (D.I. 44) The motion in limine sought to admit, inter alia, the testimony of Robert Morgan, a government trial witness and one of movant’s co-conspirators in the Citigroup wire fraud scheme. (D.I. 44 at 2-3) In the motion, the government explained that Morgan was expected to testify at trial as to how he assisted movant in perpetrating the Citigroup wire fraud. Morgan was also expected to testify that, in February 2009, approximately two years after his involvement in the Citigroup fraud, movant again approached him and told Morgan that he was involved with an individual known as “Big Homey,” who had arranged for a large sum of money to be unlawfully transferred to a particular bank account (the “Big Homey Scheme”). Morgan believed that movant had asked for his assistance in [810]*810obtaining the proceeds of this unlawful wire transfer just as movant had previously recruited Morgan to participate in the unlawful Citigroup wire transfer scheme two years prior. The government argued that the Big Homey evidence should be permitted under Rule 404(b) because it demonstrated that movant knowingly received stolen funds as part of the Citigroup fraud and that his actions were not an accident or a mistake. The government asserted that this evidence was not being introduced to demonstrate that movant has a propensity to commit fraud crimes. (D.I. 44 at 2-9) On August 26, 2010, the court granted the government’s motion in limine in part, permitting the government to introduce the evidence relating to the Big Homey Scheme. (D.I. 57)

A five-day jury trial was held from August 30, 2010 through September 3, 2010. The government presented evidence showing that Seals sent unlawful wire transfers from December 2005 through March 2007 totaling more than $2,700,000 from Citigroup to movant and Watson in exchange for kickbacks from movant. (D.I. 172 at 3) Morgan testified as a government witness about the Big Homey Scheme. In its casein-chief, the government also put forward the testimony of six other witnesses and introduced over 100 exhibits in order to prove that movant was guilty of the offenses charged against him. (D.I. 172 at 3-4) One of the exhibits was the transcript of movant’s 2008 civil deposition which involved the same events at issue in the Citigroup fraud. (D.I. 111 at 28-30)

During the trial, movant attempted to rebut the government’s case by arguing that Seals led him to believe that he was receiving a legitimate loan from Citigroup. (D.I. 172 at 4) Movant took the stand on his own behalf and testified that Seals, whom he did not know at the time, visited his pizza restaurant in December 2006, presenting herself as a Citigroup loan officer who could provide him with a commercial loan. Movant also testified that Seals never told him that the money she wired into his accounts was stolen. Id.

On cross-examination, movant was asked about the answers he gave during the 2008 civil deposition involving the same events at issue in the Citigroup fraud. (D.I. 172 at 4) Movant acknowledged that, during the deposition: (1) he had been unable to recall writing large checks drawn on the fraud proceeds, including one check for $1 million; (2) he had denied knowing that someone from Citigroup sent wire transfers to his own bank accounts when, in fact, he actually did know that the wire transfers had come from Citigroup; and (3) he had falsely denied knowing Seals or anyone else employed at Citigroup. Movant explained that he “lied” in his deposition because he was nervous. Id.

The court provided a limiting instruction as a part of its final charge to the jury and instructed the jury that the evidence related to the Big Homey Scheme was admitted only for certain limited purposes, including to prove that movant acted with the requisite state of mind, knowledge, or intent necessary to commit the crimes charged or that his actions were not a mistake or an accident. (D.I. 66 at 22) The court emphasized that movant was “not on trial for committing this other act.” Id. The court further instructed the jury not to consider the testimony regarding the Big Homey Scheme as evidence proving that movant is a bad person or predisposed to do bad things, such as participate in the crimes charged. Id.

On September 3, 2010, the jury found movant and Watson guilty on all counts. (D.I. 69) The presentence investigation report found that movant’s total offense level was 34 and that his criminal history category was II, yielding a sentencing guidelines range of 168 to 210 months of [811]*811incarceration. (D.I. 122 at 4-5) Sentencing counsel for movant filed a sentencing letter and memoranda requesting a significant variance; sentencing counsel also objected to a two level upward adjustment to movant’s offense level computation, arguing that movant was not the organizer or the leader of the conspiracy to defraud Citigroup. (D.I. 98; D.I. 99)

On March 22, 2011, the court sentenced movant to 96 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release on counts one and counts eighteen through thirty and thirty-three, and to 96 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release on counts thirty-four and thirty-five, with all of the respective terms of imprisonment and supervised release to run concurrently. (D.I. 105) The court also ordered movant to pay restitution in the amount of $85,366 on counts thirty-four and thirty-five, and $2,866,545.36 on the remaining counts, plus a special assessment of $1,700. Id.

Movant appealed his conviction, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the court’s judgment on January 20, 2012. See United States v. Singleton,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Thompson
2021 Ohio 2979 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
134 F. Supp. 3d 807, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130943, 2015 WL 5724363, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/singleton-v-united-states-ded-2015.