United States v. Lynch

227 F. Supp. 3d 421, 2017 WL 36989, 119 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 336, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 634
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 4, 2017
DocketCriminal No. 14-181
StatusPublished

This text of 227 F. Supp. 3d 421 (United States v. Lynch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Lynch, 227 F. Supp. 3d 421, 2017 WL 36989, 119 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 336, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 634 (W.D. Pa. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL (DOC. NO. 233)

Arthur J. Schwab, United States District Judge

Defendant, Steven J. Lynch (“Lynch”), a highly skilled tax attorney an.d sophisticated businessman, was found guilty of 16-counts of willful failure to pay over withheld employment taxes in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7202, of a 29-count Superseding Indictment,1 on September 9, 2016. The evidence at trial fairly established that Lynch possessed superior knowledge of tax and corporate laws which he used to keep Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) agents from being able to collect taxes due for several entities that make up the Iceo-plex—a collection of businesses related to an indoor ice skating rink2—by shifting assets and employees among several entities.

For a period of more than ten years, Lynch kept the IRS at bay, with promises to pay the withheld employment taxes owed, and with partial payments, some made involuntarily on the rare occasion when the IRS was able-to successfully levy a bank account or by applying refunds due to Defendant from his personal tax returns. He structured the Iceoplex entities to keep employees in companies with minimal assets which resulted in the IRS being unable to collect unpaid liabilities; and, he kept Iceoplex assets in other companies that were then able to receive large loans from banks that were unaware the other Iceoplex entities owed millions of dollars in unpaid employment taxes. Trial testimony established that Lynch told IRS agents that he would make more payments toward the unpaid tax liabilities when he was able to secure funds, but instead, Lynch used funds from the loans obtained to pay other creditors and to make capital improvements to his businesses.

After deliberating over four days for a total of 19 hours, which exceeded the total trial time of 17.5 hours, the Jury returned a verdict in this case which shows a careful count-by-count analysis. The Jury found that the Government proved beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the crimes charged at Counts 13 through 19 and 21 [424]*424through 29, but acquitted Lynch on all other counts. Doc. Nos. 203, 208.

Lynch now moves for judgment of acquittal under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 or, in the alternative, for a new trial under Federal Rule .of Criminal Procedure 33. Doc. No. 235. For the reasons set forth herein, the Court will DENY these motions.

I.Legal Standards

A. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 provides that a defendant “may move for a judgment of acquittal ... after a guilty verdict,” for “any offense for which the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction.” When reviewing a post-verdict motion for judgment of acquittal under Rule 29, a district court “must review the record in the light most favorable to the prosecution to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt based on the available evidence.” United States v. Smith, 294 F.3d 473, 476-77 (3d Cir. 2002). District courts must be careful “not to usurp the role of the jury by weighing credibility and assigning weight to the evidence, or by substituting [their] judgment for that of the jury.” United States v. Brodie, 403 F.3d 123, 133 (3d Cir. 2005) (citing United States v. Jannotti, 673 F.2d 578, 598 (3d Cir. 1982)) (en banc).

B. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33 permits a court to “vacate any judgment and grant a new trial if the interest of justice so requires.” When reviewing a Rule 33 motion, the district court must exercise its own judgment in assessing the Government’s case, but can order a new trial “only if it believes that there is a serious danger that a miscarriage of justice has occurred—that is, that an innocent person has been convicted.” United States v. Silvern, 542 F.3d 993, 1004-05 (3d Cir. 2008) (quoting United States v. Johnson, 302 F.3d 139, 150 (3d Cir. 2002)).

C.Elements of 26 U.S.C. § 7202 as Set Forth in the Jury Instructions

For each of the time periods specified in the Counts for which Lynch was found guilty by the Jury, the Government had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. That Mr. Lynch had a duty under Title 26 of the United States Code to collect, account for, and pay over taxes from the wages of employees;
2. That Mr. Lynch failed to collect, or to truthfully account for, or to pay over the taxes; and,
3. That Mr. Lynch acted willfully.

Final Jury Instructions, Doc. No. 165.

“Willfully” means a voluntary and intentional violation of a known legal duty. Doc. No. 165. Conduct is not willful if done through negligence, mistake, accident, or due to a good faith misunderstanding of the requirements of the law. Id. A “good faith belief’ is one that is honestly and genuinely held. Id. A belief need not be correct or objectively reasonable to be held in good faith. Id. To find that a defendant acted “willfully,” the evidence must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted with a purpose to disobey or disregard the law. Id. There is no requirement, however, to prove that a defendant had any evil motive or bad purpose other than the purpose to disobey or disregard the law. Id.

II. Discussion

A. Sufficient Evidence Exists to Support a Finding of Defendant’s Willfulness for the Counts on which Defendant was Convicted

Lynch argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to estab[425]*425lish that he “willfully” failed to pay the employment taxes and that “overwhelming evidence of [his] good faith” was not refuted by the Government. Doc. No. 235, pp. 9-13.

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Bluebook (online)
227 F. Supp. 3d 421, 2017 WL 36989, 119 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 336, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 634, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-lynch-pawd-2017.