United States v. Coffman

859 F. Supp. 2d 871, 2012 WL 1309386, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52985
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Kentucky
DecidedApril 16, 2012
DocketCriminal No. 09-CR-181-KKC
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 859 F. Supp. 2d 871 (United States v. Coffman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Coffman, 859 F. Supp. 2d 871, 2012 WL 1309386, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52985 (E.D. Ky. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND PRELIMINARY ORDER OF FORFEITURE

KAREN K. CALDWELL, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Government’s Motion for a Preliminary Order of Forfeiture pursuant to Rule 32.2(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. [DE 393, DE 459]. Bryan Coffman has moved for a general order of forfeiture. [DE 437]. The matter has been fully briefed and the Court heard oral arguments on September 22, 2011. For reasons stated below, the Court will DENY the motion for forfeiture of the 4816 Chaffey Lane residence and will GRANT the motion to forfeit all other property listed in the indictment.

BACKGROUND

A jury convicted Bryan Coffman of mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. The indictment charged Coffman with running an investment scheme in which he defrauded investors by misrepresenting the value or existence of various oil and gas investments and transferred millions of dollars of investor funds into personal accounts. The indictment contained forfeiture allegations and after the jury trial, Coffman waived his right to a jury trial on the forfeiture issues. [DE 349]. As part of the sentencing process, the Government seeks to divest Coffman of the proceeds of his scheme as well as other assets that were comingled with the ill-gotten gains and used to launder the tainted money.

At issue are thirteen (13) financial accounts, two (2) pieces of real property and a yacht. The parties agreed that three financial accounts contained only investor funds and were subject to preliminary forfeiture. At oral argument, the Court entered a preliminary order of forfeiture on these three accounts,1 and denied the Government’s motion for forfeiture of the 4816 Chaffey Lane residence.

The Government seeks preliminary forfeiture of investor funds in various financial accounts as well as assets purchased with investor funds. Coffman does not object to the forfeiture of investor funds. However, he objects to the forfeiture of [875]*875any funds or property not directly traceable to the investor funds.

The Court has considered the evidence presented at trial, along with testimony from United States Postal Inspection Service financial analyst Ryan Lee. [DE 393-2] . The parties submitted legal memoranda in support of their positions and the Court heard oral arguments on September 22, 2011. Having considered the legal arguments and reviewed the record, the Court issues this Order.

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Standard

Under the Federal Rule on criminal forfeiture, “the court must determine whether the government has established the requisite nexus between the property and the offense.” Fed.R.Crim.P. 32.2(b)(1)(A). The United States must establish this nexus by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Jones, 502 F.3d 388, 391 (6th Cir.2007). The Government seeks forfeiture under two different, but similar, federal statutes. [DE 393-1 at 3] .

A. Proceeds Forfeiture

First, the Government seeks forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) which authorizes the forfeiture of property “which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to ... any offense constituting ‘specified unlawful activity.’ ” 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C). Mail and wire fraud are specified unlawful activities. See 18 U.S.C. § 1956(c)(7)(A) (stating that a “specified unlawful activity” includes “any act or activity constituting an offense listed in 18 U.S.C § 1961(1)”); 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1) (listing mail and wire fraud). In short, § 981(a)(1)(C) subjects to forfeiture the proceeds traceable to the fraud and is not limited to the net gain or profit realized from the offense. § 981(a)(2)(A). Proceeds of a fraud is defined as “property that a person would not have but for the criminal offense.” United States v. Nicolo, 597 F.Supp.2d 342, 346 (W.D.N.Y.2009) (quoting United States v. Grant, No. 05-1192, 2008 WL 4376365, at *2 n. 1 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2008)).

B. Money Laundering Forfeiture

The Government also seeks forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(1). If a defendant is convicted of money laundering or conspiracy to commit money laundering, the court “shall order that the person forfeit to the United States any property, real or personal, involved in such offense, or any property traceable to such property.” 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(1) (emphasis added). The term “involved in” includes “the money or other property being laundered (the corpus), any commissions or fees paid to the launderer, and any property used to facilitate the laundering offense.” United States v. McGauley, 279 F.3d 62, 76 n. 14 (1st Cir.2002) (citing United States v. All Monies ($477,048.62) in Account No. 90-3617-8, 754 F.Supp. 1467, 1473 (D.Haw.1991)).

Money laundering forfeiture pursuant to § 982(a)(1) applies to a larger class of property than proceeds forfeiture under § 981(a)(1)(C) because it applies to more than just the laundered property or proceeds from the laundered property. Money laundering forfeiture is required for all property “involved in” the crime, which can include clean or legitimate money that is comingled with tainted money derived from illicit sources.

There are two ways clean money can be involved in a money laundering offense and subject to forfeiture. First, if tainted money is commingled with clean money, and money is laundered out of the comingled account — all of the money laundered out of the account constitutes the corpus of the money laundering, not just [876]*876the tainted money. See United States v. Funds on Deposit at Bank One, Ind. Account 1563632726, No. 2:02-480, 2010 WL 909091, at *8 (N.D.Ind. Mar. 9, 2010) (citing United States v. Huber, 404 F.3d 1047, 1058 (8th Cir.2005)); United States v. $70,150, No. 02-874, 2009 WL 3614871, at *11 (S.D.Ohio Oct. 28, 2009) (holding that if legitimate money was involved in the offense, both legitimate and illegitimate money are subject to forfeiture).

Second, property derived from legitimate sources can be used to facilitate money laundering. See, e.g., United States v. McGauley, 279 F.3d 62, 76-77 (1st Cir.2002).

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Bluebook (online)
859 F. Supp. 2d 871, 2012 WL 1309386, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52985, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-coffman-kyed-2012.