United States v. Melinda Campbell

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 15, 2019
Docket17-5642
StatusUnpublished

This text of United States v. Melinda Campbell (United States v. Melinda Campbell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Melinda Campbell, (6th Cir. 2019).

Opinion

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION File Name: 19a0023n.06

Nos. 17-5642 & 17-5973

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Jan 15, 2019 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) ON APPEAL FROM THE v. ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT ) COURT FOR THE EASTERN MELINDA J. CAMPBELL (No. 17-5642); ) DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY ELLIOT CAMPBELL (No. 17-5973), ) ) Defendants-Appellants. )

Before: CLAY, KEITH, and NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judges.

NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. When it comes to Melinda and Elliot Campbell—think

Bonnie and Clyde. But rather than rob banks, the Campbells targeted the trucking industry. The

couple’s con went as follows: they created fake shipping companies, persuaded third parties to hire

them to deliver cargo, and then held the shipments as hostage until the third parties paid ransom

for the deliveries. The government charged the Campbells with six counts of wire fraud, one count

of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. After a

five-day trial, a jury convicted the Campbells.

The Campbells now appeal several aspects of their convictions. Melinda argues that there

was not sufficient evidence to convict her of conspiracy under the Hobbs Act—and that the district

court incorrectly calculated her “loss amount” at sentencing. And both Melinda and Elliot argue

that Count 8 (conspiracy to commit extortion) was duplicitous and thus unconstitutional. But

because we answer all these questions in favor of the government, we affirm. Nos. 17-5642/5973, United States v. Campbell, et al.

I.

The Campbells operated various trucking companies in Kentucky. Bryan Napier worked

for the Campbells as a dispatcher. This meant that Napier found cargo for the Campbells’ trucks

to deliver from point A to point B. And then the Campbells (with Napier’s help) entered into

contracts with various shipping companies to deliver the cargo.

But to induce the shippers to enter into these contracts, the Campbells made “false

representations and/or promises” which they “never actually intended to comply [with].”

(Presentence Investigation Rep. (“PSR”), R. 261 ¶ 10.) For example, the Campbells agreed to

meet certain conditions, such as providing proof of a trucking license, insurance, and tax forms;

using several drivers to make deliveries within a specific time frame; and covering the cargo with

a tarp. (Napier Trial Test., R. 212 at 43–47.) The Campbells also “promised to deliver [the cargo]

before getting paid.” (Id. at 48 (emphasis added).) But once the shippers were duped, the

Campbells failed to follow these conditions.

Instead, contrary to the contracts, the Campbells “requested to be paid before they delivered

[the] cargo.” (Id. at 86.) And if a shipper refused to pay up front, the Campbells would hold the

cargo until the shipper paid. The Campbells would instruct their driver to stop the truck and “not

to deliver until [the Campbells] told them to deliver.” (Id.) As the district court explained, the

“customers were afraid that they would suffer economic harm if they refused to pay the Campbells

before delivery”—such as losing money, future business, or incurring liability to their own

customers. (Opinion, R. 162 at 5.) Eventually, once the customer gave-in and “paid a new rate, a

2 Nos. 17-5642/5973, United States v. Campbell, et al.

higher rate,” the Campbells would instruct the driver to complete the delivery. (Napier Trial Test.,

R. 212 at 155.) The government identified at least 69 victims who lost money under the

Campbells’ scheme.

The Campbells also instructed the drivers to “rejigger” loads. (Id. at 89.) This meant that

shippers would pay the Campbells extra to deliver cargo exclusively with no other cargo on the

truck. But after agreeing to this condition, the Campbells instructed their drivers to comingle other

cargo on the truck—and deliver the additional cargo first to “make it look like they had complied

with that requirement.” (Id.; PSR, R. 261 ¶ 12 (explaining that the Campbells also lied about the

number of drivers in each truck).)

The Campbells prolonged their con by creating fake company names and fake employee

names. The Campbells then used these fake names to falsify government forms and insurance

documents. And they would conceal the previous aliases when they received complaints, starting

over with new (but still fake) companies. (See also Appellee’s Br. at 6 (“Misleading paperwork

was also provided to the brokers, as well as altered Insurance forms showing excess insurance

coverage that did not exist.”).)

In September 2014, the government indicted the Campbells on six counts of wire fraud,

one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act

extortion. The Campbells went to trial and tried to explain their conduct (arguments they renewed

in their post-trial motion). The Campbells’ defense relied on the general rule that a trucking

company retains a “carrier’s lien” on a shipment—which allows the carrier to keep the shipment

3 Nos. 17-5642/5973, United States v. Campbell, et al.

until the customer pays. See 49 U.S.C. § 13707(a). According to the Campbells, they lawfully

refused to deliver cargo—under these default carrier’s liens—until their customers paid. And

Napier and Elliot each testified that, if a dispute arose, he believed he had a legal right to withhold

delivery.

The jury convicted the Campbells and the district court denied the motion for judgment

notwithstanding the verdict. In doing so, the district court explained that “at first glance, it seems

like the Campbells have a compelling argument.” (Opinion, R. 162 at 6.) But the parties could

give up their right to a carrier’s lien. And that is exactly what the Campbells did here. In their

contracts, the Campbells explicitly waived any carrier’s lien and promised to demand payment

“within twenty days from the receipt [of cargo].” (Id. at 6–7 (brackets omitted); Contract Carrier

Agreement, R. 120-4 ¶ 5 (“Carrier shall have no lien, and hereby expressly waives it right to any

lien on any cargo, freight or other property of Broker or any of its customers.”).) The district court

found that “[a]s a result of these contractual terms, the default rules . . . no longer applied . . . [and]

the Campbells had no legal right to demand payment from their customers up front.” (Opinion,

R. 162 at 7.) In other words, once the Campbells gave up their right to a carrier’s lien, it became

unlawful for them to refuse to deliver cargo until their customers paid.

The district court then went to sentencing. According to the PSR, Melinda was responsible

for $238,197.99 in losses. Under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, this caused a 10-level

increase to Melinda’s offense level. See U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(1)(F). But Melinda objected to

including around $90,000 of that, which if sustained, would have resulted in only an 8-level

4 Nos. 17-5642/5973, United States v. Campbell, et al.

increase. See id. § 2B1.1(b)(1)(E). Melinda argued that these losses stemmed from an unrelated

trucking accident (and insurance dispute)—and not from the fraudulent trucking scheme itself.

The district court disagreed, explaining that “it is clear to the Court that insurance was part of the

Campbells’ criminal activity.” (Sentencing Hr’g, R.

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