United States v. Prince

618 F.3d 551, 2010 WL 3339204
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 29, 2010
Docket08-6547
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 618 F.3d 551 (United States v. Prince) 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. Prince, 618 F.3d 551, 2010 WL 3339204 (6th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

RALPH B. GUY, JR., Circuit Judge.

Defendant Robert Prince, III, was convicted following a jury trial of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h), and multiple counts of money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)© and § 2, in connection with fraudulent claims for payment for physical therapy services provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions, defendant appeals from the denial of his consolidated motion for judgment of acquittal or new trial. Defendant also claims “fundamental error” resulting from the appearance of partiality toward a witness whose attorney also represented the district judge in a prior proceeding. Finally, defendant argues that the district court erred in denying his pretrial motion *553 for disclosure of the government’s exhibit list. After review of the record, we affirm.

I.

Defendant Robert Prince, III (Defendant), along with his brother Michael Prince (Prince), sister Marilyn Prince Watts, M.D. (Watts), and uncle Darryl Dempsey (Dempsey), were charged with various fraud and money laundering offenses arising out of the operation of two physical medicine companies located in Memphis, Tennessee. Although there was considerable evidence relating to other physical medicine companies that operated in largely the same manner, the charges related specifically to Medicare payments received by Brittsen Rehabilitation, Inc. (Brittsen), and Tender Loving Rehabilitation, Inc. (TLR), for in-home physical therapy services performed by unlicensed physical therapy technicians without the direct over-the-shoulder physician supervision that was required for reimbursement under Medicare Part B. The indictment alleged that Brittsen received $2.9 million and TLR received $600,000 in payments from Medicare on fraudulent claims for physical therapy services.

Not named in all of the counts, defendant was charged with conspiracy to commit wire and health care fraud (count 1), multiple substantive counts of health care fraud (counts 2-11), conspiracy to commit money laundering involving the proceeds of the health care fraud (count 14), multiple substantive counts of money laundering (counts 15-54), and criminal forfeiture (count 63). Defendant was not included in the charges alleging the payment of kickbacks for the procurement of patients at Brittsen (counts 12-13), or money laundering transactions involving amounts greater than $10,000 (counts 55-62). Defendant rejected the government’s “global” plea offer, which was contingent on acceptance by all of the defendants. Defendant proceeded to trial, while the other defendants entered separate plea agreements.

On June 26, 2008, following ten days of testimony and two days of deliberations, the jury acquitted defendant of the fraud charges but found defendant guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering, 38 counts of money laundering, and criminal forfeiture (counts 14, 15-54, and 63). Defendant moved for judgment of acquittal or a new trial pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 29 and 33(a), challenging, in part, the weight and sufficiency of the evidence. The district court denied that motion in a written order entered November 7, 2008. Defendant was sentenced to concurrent 63-month terms of imprisonment, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $420,000. This timely appeal followed.

II.

This court reviews de novo the denial of a motion for acquittal challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. United States v. Mabry, 518 F.3d 442, 447-48 (6th Cir.2008), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 1523, 173 L.Ed.2d 656 (2009). The relevant question on direct appeal is whether, “after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). In making this determination, “we do not weigh the evidence, assess the credibility of the witnesses, or substitute our judgment for that of the jury.” United States v. Wright, 16 F.3d 1429, 1440 (6th Cir.1994).

To establish a money laundering conspiracy, the government must prove (1) that two or more persons conspired to commit the crime of money laundering, *554 and (2) that the defendant knowingly and voluntarily joined the conspiracy. See Whitfield v. United States, 543 U.S. 209, 212, 125 S.Ct. 687, 160 L.Ed.2d 611 (2005) (holding that § 1956(h) conspiracy does not require proof of an overt act). The indictment alleged a conspiracy to commit money laundering: to promote a specified unlawful activity, namely, health care fraud, § 1956(a)(l)(A)(i); to conceal the origin of the funds, § 1956(a)(1)(A)(ii); or in a transaction of a value greater than $10,000, § 1957. The substantive counts alleged only promotional money laundering, and aiding and abetting promotional money laundering, in violation of § 1956(a)(l)(A)(i), which requires proof that the defendant: “ ‘(1) conducted a financial transaction that involved the proceeds of unlawful activity; (2) knew the property involved was proceeds of unlawful activity; and (3) intended to promote that unlawful activity.’ ” United States v. King, 169 F.3d 1035, 1039 (6th Cir.1999) (citation omitted).

Defendant does not dispute that there was sufficient evidence to establish that health care fraud was in fact occurring at Brittsen and TLR, or that the financial transactions at issue actually involved the proceeds of that fraud. Rather, defendant maintains that the evidence was not sufficient to establish that he knew that health care fraud was being committed or, therefore, that he knowingly joined in the money laundering conspiracy or engaged in the specific financial transactions knowing that they involved proceeds of the fraud. We disagree. Without recounting all the testimony, we summarize the evidence from which defendant’s knowledge could be inferred.

A. Evidence

Brittsen and TLR, which opened in 1999 and 2001, respectively, were two of a series of physical medicine businesses started by Michael Prince and a varying constellation of family and other associates. Brittsen and TLR were the only two located in Tennessee, and the only two in which Dr. Watts participated. The defendant was involved in managing the finances and doing bookkeeping for many of the physical therapy businesses, as well as for the billing and consulting companies that received payment from those businesses.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
618 F.3d 551, 2010 WL 3339204, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-prince-ca6-2010.