United States v. Algood

19 F. App'x 419
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedSeptember 18, 2001
DocketNos. 00-2969, 00-2994
StatusPublished

This text of 19 F. App'x 419 (United States v. Algood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Algood, 19 F. App'x 419 (7th Cir. 2001).

Opinion

ORDER

Wayne Garland and Joseph Algood were both convicted of mail fraud and of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. On appeal, they challenge the district court’s exclusion of impeachment evidence regarding the government’s chief witness, the sufficiency of the evidence to support their convictions, and their indictments and jury instructions. Algood also appeals the district court’s denial of a sentencing adjustment for being a minimal or minor participant, and both defendants challenge the court’s restitution order. We affirm in part and remand in part.

I.

Wayne Garland and Joseph Algood (collectively, “defendants”) were both employees of Algood Chevrolet, a General Motors (“GM”) automobile dealership.1 Garland was the general manager of the dealership, and Algood was, at different times, salesman and floor manager. Algood Chevrolet’s business sold cars for personal use, and it also sold cars to fleet purchasers, including police departments. These sales not only enabled Algood Chevrolet to sell more cars, but also increased the visibility of GM cars.

When police departments decided to purchase new cars, dealers were required to submit bids for the contract to the relevant agency, and the dealer with the best bid would be the exclusive provider of fleet vehicles for a period of time. GM used a bid assistance program to increase [422]*422fleet vehicle sales. GM would lower the price charged dealers for vehicles sold to fleet purchasers, enabling the dealer to make a lower bid. Generally, the price for the dealer would be between $2,000 and $7,000 lower per car. According to Walter Campbell, a GM auditor, in order for the bid assistance program to apply GM required that a fleet vehicle must be paid for with funds from the police department, delivered to the police department, and kept for at least six months. These requirements served to prevent a purchaser from buying a fleet vehicle and then reselling the vehicle for a profit. For the most part, qualified purchasers kept the cars for two to four years.

In 1989, Algood Chevrolet secured the bid to provide fleet vehicles for law enforcement agencies in Indiana. The government presented evidence, however, that Algood Chevrolet would sometimes make it appear that a vehicle had been sold to a police department when in fact it had not. Rather, after purchasing vehicles from GM, Algood Chevrolet would transfer them to the Michigan City Police Department (“MCPD”), which would use the vehicles, but not actually purchase or pay for them. Nevertheless, the vehicles were titled to the MCPD. After a brief period (less than six months), the vehicles would be returned to Algood Chevrolet, which then sold them to the public. The dealership kept the bid assistance, and thus sold the vehicles at a much greater profit. In fact, in some cases there was evidence that the fleet vehicles were not even physically transferred to the MCPD. Algood Chevrolet would title the car to the MCPD and then re-title it to the retail purchaser.

Apparently, the MCPD did not know what the defendants were doing. Rather, the MCPD was told that it was participating in a “Testing and Evaluation” (“T & E”) program, and under this “program” new fleet vehicles would be provided at no cost to the MCPD for a brief period and the MCPD would then test and evaluate them. In fact GM did not have a T & E program; it was an invention of the defendants.

In September 1993, GM did an on-site audit of the fleet program at the Algood Chevrolet dealership and discovered some discrepancies. Following the audit, GM referred the matter to the FBI, where it was assigned to Special Agent Mark Becker. As a result of this investigation, Garland, Algood, and another employee, George Ingram, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud. Garland and Algood pleaded not guilty, but Ingram pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement, agreeing to testify against Garland and Algood.

Ingram’s testimony was a central part of the government’s case against Garland and Algood. Before trial, the government filed a motion in limine to exclude evidence of Ingram’s 1986 conviction for insurance fraud under Federal Rule of Evidence 609(b) and a motion to exclude “other acts” evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b).2 The district court granted these motions in part and denied them in part, permitting cross-examination of Ingram regarding his conviction for two counts of insurance fraud and history of accepting kickbacks while at Algood Chevrolet. However, shortly before trial the district court excluded evidence that Ingram’s convictions had been reduced from felonies to misdemeanors, and it excluded extrinsic evidence that Ingram accepted kickbacks.

[423]*423Ingram testified at trial that the T & E scheme (sometimes referred to as the “in and out program” by the conspirators) was put together at a meeting in February or March 1993, attended by Garland and Russell Algood. According to Ingram, he had learned from James Elwell, who was in charge of the MCPD fleet, that the MCPD had financial difficulties. Ingram told Elwell he might have a way to assist the MCPD, but would have to check and get back to him. Ingram testified that he discussed the issue with Garland, and that he and Garland agreed to run the “in and out program” with the MCPD. Ingram and Garland then came up with the idea of the T & E program, and Ingram offered Elwell the chance for MCPD to participate in the “program”. Unaware that the T & E program was a sham, Elwell agreed.

The jury also heard testimony that Al-good Chevrolet made use of “car jockeys” who drove cars to and from Michigan City. Several of these individuals testified at trial that they were instructed by Ingram and Garland to move cars to and from MCPD, and from Algood Chevrolet’s fleet lot to its retail lot. One “car jockey” testified that Garland yelled at them for bringing vehicles back from the MCPD to the fleet lot instead of the retail lot. According to Ingram, Algood Chevrolet also paid for “speed titles” for fleet cars that were ultimately sold to retail purchasers. For a fee, these titles were made available more rapidly than regular titles. At trial, the government presented evidence that Garland had signed several checks to James Elwell and the MCPD which bore the notation “titles” and “speed titles.”

Another aspect of the alleged scheme involved putting miles on the cars, which Ingram testified would support the titling of the cars to the MCPD. Agent Becker testified that Algood admitted to him that the conspirators would “[r]ack up a thousand to 1200 miles” on cars, because “it looks good on paper.” Several Algood Chevrolet employees testified to receiving directions from Garland on which cars to drive, and how long to drive them. Garland admitted giving directions to drive vehicles, although he denied the purpose was to put miles on them.

Ingram also testified that if a car was sold at retail before it had been through the T & E program, Algood and Garland would ask him to process a speed title, rapidly titling the car to the MCPD and then to the retail purchaser. In addition, the jury heard testimony from several retail purchasers who had bought cars which had been run through the T & E program. For example, Rick Thompson wished to buy a factory-new truck. Algood let him take home a truck with under 10 miles on the odometer.

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Bluebook (online)
19 F. App'x 419, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-algood-ca7-2001.