United States v. Gatto

313 F. Supp. 3d 551
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in United States v. Gatto. Read the opinion of the Court — 295 F. Supp. 3d 336
District Court, S.D. Illinois·Decided June 1, 2018·No. 17–cr–0686 (LAK)·Published

Opinion

Lewis A. Kaplan, District Judge

This matter is before the Court on the joint motion of defendants Code and Dawkins *554to suppress evidence obtained from searches of their cell phones [DI 75].1

Background

Defendant Code was a consultant for "Company-1," a multi-national corporation that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing, and accessories for various sports, including basketball. Defendant Dawkins was an aspiring business manager for professional athletes. Both defendants are charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud by paying bribes to certain high school basketball players bound for NCAA Division I universities and/or their families in exchange for commitments by the students to matriculate at specific universities and then retain Dawkins' services and sign with Company-1 upon turning professional.2

Defendants' Arrests

On September 25, 2017, defendants Dawkins and Code were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, substantive wire fraud, and money laundering (the "Subject Offenses").3 Dawkins was arrested on the same day and Code on the following day.4 At the time of their arrests, each of Dawkins and Code had two cell phones on his person.5 At the time of his arrest, Dawkins was believed by law enforcement to have been en route to a meeting with an FBI undercover agent to discuss the Subject Offenses.6 Law enforcement personnel seized both cell phones from each defendant incident to the arrests.7

Search Warrant Applications

On October 6, 20178 and November 3, 2017,9 the government applied for warrants to search the seized cell phones. Each application stated that there was probable cause to believe that the seized cell phones contained evidence of the Subject Offenses.

The government submitted an affidavit by an FBI Special Agent ("Agent 1") in support of its application to search the two Dawkins cell phones. Agent 1 there stated that one cell phone recovered from Dawkins had been subject to an FBI wiretap and that Dawkins had been recorded using that phone for several calls and at least one text message as a part and in furtherance of the schemes with which he had been charged.10 The agent stated also that he was aware that Dawkins had used other cell phones in connection with the Subject Offenses. As the second cell phone was recovered from Dawkins' person when he was believed to be en route to a meeting related to the alleged schemes, Agent 1 *555attested that he believed it likely that Dawkins had used the second cell phone to "communicate with co-conspirators in furtherance of the Subject Offenses."11

The government submitted an affidavit by another FBI Special Agent ("Agent 2") in support of its application to search the two Code cell phones. Agent 2 there stated that the first cell phone recovered from Code also had been subject to an FBI wiretap. During the period from June through September 2017, Code repeatedly was recorded using that phone to communicate regarding and in furtherance of the Subject Offenses, including several calls with defendant Dawkins to discuss the prospective payment of bribes to certain coaches.12 Agent 2 stated that the second Code cell phone had been used by Code in a conversation with Dawkins that was intercepted over a wiretap of Dawkins' cell phone. During that conversation, Code and Dawkins discussed payments in furtherance of the Subject Offenses. On the basis of that conversation and the fact that Code was carrying this second phone with him on the day of his arrest, Agent 2 stated that he believed it likely that Code had used that phone on other occasions to communicate with his alleged co-conspirators in furtherance of the Subject Offenses.13 He stated also that:

"[B]ased on [his] training and experience, [he was] aware that cellphones like the Subject Devices that ha[d] been used to communicate with others about fraud schemes, often contain[ed] records of that activity, including call logs, voicemail messages, text messages, email correspondence, contact information and other identifying data regarding coconspirators, notes about calls and meetings relevant to the Subject Offenses, and the like. Indeed, individuals engaged in such criminal activity often store[d] such records in order to, among other things, keep track of coconspirators [sic] contact information and to keep a record of requests for payments along with details regarding the manner and method in which those payments were made,"14

Both Agents 1 and 2 stated that law enforcement personnel would review the electronically stored information ("ESI") on the subject cell phones for information responsive to the warrant. They listed several search techniques and stated that while "[l]aw enforcement personnel [would] make reasonable efforts to restrict their search to data falling within the categories of evidence specified in the warrant," "[d]epending on the circumstances, ... law enforcement [might] need to conduct a complete review of all the ESI from the Subject Devices to locate all data responsive to the warrant."15

Search Warrants Issued

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United States v. Gatto, 313 F. Supp. 3d 551 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

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