United States v. Pina-Nieves

87 F. Supp. 3d 336, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20852, 2015 WL 728297
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedFebruary 20, 2015
DocketCivil No. 12-215 [2](DRD)
StatusPublished

This text of 87 F. Supp. 3d 336 (United States v. Pina-Nieves) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Pina-Nieves, 87 F. Supp. 3d 336, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20852, 2015 WL 728297 (prd 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

DANIEL R. DOMÍNGUEZ, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are: (a) Motion to Dismiss Count 5 of the Superseding Indictment as it Pertains to Appearing Defendant Pinar-Nieves filed by the defendant Rafael A. Pina-Nieves [2] (hereinafter “Pina-Nieves”), Docket No. 338; (b) Government’s Opposition to Defense’s Motion to Dismiss Count 5, Docket No. 352; and (c) Report and Recommendation, Docket No. 357. For the reasons set forth below, defendant’s motion to dismiss is denied.

Issue

The issue pending before the Court is whether the dismissal of Count Five for conspiracy to launder money under 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h), is warranted as defendant Pina-Nieves “did not conduct or attempt to conduct, directly or indirectly ... any financial transaction with said proceeds of the fraudulently loan [as the underlying specified unlawful activity, such as, money laundering took place after Doral Bank’s disbursement of the monies to defendant Morales-Guanill upon the closing of a mortgage loan], or any part thereof.” See Docket No. 338. In any event, Count Five relates to a conspiracy which rests on credibility issues which are best reserved for the jury. United States v. Santos-Rivera, 726 F.3d 17, 25 (1st Cir.2013) (“Credibility is a question for the jury, which on appeal must be resolved in favor of the government.”). See United States v. Ayala-García, 574 F.3d 5, 12 (1st Cir.2009).

Factual and Procedural Background

On September 24, 2012, the Grand Jury returned a Superseding Indictment charging defendant Morales-Guanill on several counts, to wit, Counts One, Two, Five through Fifteen relating to conspiracy to commit bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1349; bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344; aiding and abetting under 18 U.S.C. § 2; conspiracy to launder money under 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h), and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specific unlawful activity under 18 U.S.C. § 1957. See Superseding Indictment, Docket No. 106.

Defendant Pina-Nieves moves the Court for the dismissal of Count Five of the Superseding Indictment, on the grounds that it applies to Pina-Nieves, as the defendant “did not conduct or attempt to conduct, directly or indirectly, in any way shape of form, any financial transaction with said proceeds of the fraudulently loan, or any part thereof.” (Emphasis on the original). See Docket No. 338. “Accordingly, he [Pina-Nieves] could not, did not, and cannot be proven to have committed any money-laundering offense.” Id. In support of his dismissal request, Pina-Nieves cites United States v. Santos, 553 U.S. 507, 128 S.Ct. 2020, 170 L.Ed.2d 912 [338]*338(2008), and alleges that (1) “a violation of Sec. 1956 requires that the charged defendant engage in a transaction with the proceeds of a specified unlawful activity, in this case, the bank fraud alleged; in other words, that to avoid a problem of ‘merger,’ as recognized by the caselaw, the acts which constitute the potential money-laundering offense must occur after the underlying offense has been completed and thus after the proceeds form [sic] that underlying offense have been generated/received;” and (2) the indictment fails to allege and “the government has not shown or could ever show, that there is any evidence to proof that defendant Pina engaged in any transaction with the proceeds of the bank fraud alleged, that is, with any part of the approximately $4,100,000.00 which co-defendant Morales Guanill received from Doral Bank on account of the sale of the Property.” (Emphasis on the original). See Docket No. 338, page 4. Lastly, defendant Pina-Nieves further alleges that Count Five of the Superseding Indictment “is constitutionally insufficient,” hence, it should be dismissed. See Docket No. 338, page 8.

The Government filed its opposition on the grounds that defendant’s analysis of the Santos case is wrong, as it “presumes that an overt act must be committed with the proceeds in order for there to be a violation of the statute.” See Docket No. 352, page 3. “In Conspiracy, the ‘crime’ itself is the agreement of the parties to commit an illegal act-not the act itself.” Id. “The Supreme Court has clearly established the principal that a conspiracy to commit money laundering ‘does not require proof of an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.’ Whitfield v. United States, 543 U.S. 209, 219, 125 S.Ct. 687, 160 L.Ed.2d 611 (2005).” Id., at pages 3-4. The Government also cited United States v. Ayala-Vazquez, 751 F.3d 1, 14 (1st Cir.2014), in support of its objection. Id.

This matter was referred to the Magistrate Judge Marcos E. Lopez (“Magistrate Judge”) for report and recommendation on August 15, 2015. See Docket entries No. 344, 346. The Magistrate Judge Lopez entered the Report and Recommendation on September 23, 2014, and recommended that defendant’s motion to dismiss be denied. See Docket No. 357.

As of this date, the record shows that there are no objections filed to the Report and Recommendation. Hence, the role of the reviewing court is limited as to determine whether there is plain error in the analysis and recommendation made by the Magistrate Judge Lopez. The Court finds that there is no plain error. The Court briefly explains.

Standard of Review

The District Court may refer dispositive motions to a United States Magistrate Judge for a Report and Recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) (1993); Rule 59(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (“Fed. R. Crim. P.”), and Local Rule 72(a)(6) of the Local Rules for the District of Puerto Rico, as amended (“Local Rules”). See Mathews v. Weber, 423 U.S. 261, 96 S.Ct. 549, 46 L.Ed.2d 483 (1976). As a general rule, an adversely affected party may contest the Magistrate Judge’s report and recommendation by filing its objections within fourteen (14) days after being served a copy thereof. See Local Rule 72. Moreover, 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), in its pertinent part, provides that:

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Related

Mathews v. Weber
423 U.S. 261 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Whitfield v. United States
543 U.S. 209 (Supreme Court, 2005)
United States v. Santos
553 U.S. 507 (Supreme Court, 2008)
Corrada Betances v. Sea-Land Service, Inc.
248 F.3d 40 (First Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Rivera-Rodriguez
318 F.3d 268 (First Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Ayala-Garcia
574 F.3d 5 (First Circuit, 2009)
Richard F. Davet v. Enrico MacCarone
973 F.2d 22 (First Circuit, 1992)
United States v. Santos-Rivera
726 F.3d 17 (First Circuit, 2013)
Garcia v. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE
733 F. Supp. 1554 (M.D. Pennsylvania, 1990)
Nogueras-Cartagena v. United States
172 F. Supp. 2d 296 (D. Puerto Rico, 2001)
United States v. Lucena-Rivera
750 F.3d 43 (First Circuit, 2014)
United States v. Ayala-Vazquez
751 F.3d 1 (First Circuit, 2014)
United States v. George
761 F.3d 42 (First Circuit, 2014)
Jardín De Las Catalinas Ltd. Partnership v. Joyner
766 F.3d 127 (First Circuit, 2014)
United States v. Adorno-Molina
774 F.3d 116 (First Circuit, 2014)

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Bluebook (online)
87 F. Supp. 3d 336, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20852, 2015 WL 728297, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-pina-nieves-prd-2015.