South Carolina Criminal Lawyer Blog

Failure to object to sentencing errors in the district court constitutes waiver of the right to appeal those issues, in the absence of plain error. Plain error in the sentencing context is error so obvious and substantial that failure to notice and correct it would affect the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.

The plain error exception to the contemporaneous objection requirement allows an appellate court to correct plain errors or defects affecting substantial rights even if they were not brought to the trial court's attention. However, this is applied only sparingly and saves only particularly egregious errors in those circumstances in which a miscarriage of justice would otherwise result.

To reverse for plain error the reviewing of the court must 1. identify error, 2. which is plain, 3. which affects substantial rights, and 4. which seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.

Even when plain error is clearly established the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals must decide whether to notice the error. The Fourth Circuit makes this determination not by viewing the error in isolation, but by viewing it against the entire record. Only if in context of the proceedings taken as a whole, the error led to the conviction of a defendant who is actually innocent or otherwise seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings will the Fourth Circuit exercise discretion to notice it.

The United States Constitution guarantees a fair trial, not a perfect one. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that most constitutional errors can be harmless. Even errors as serious as improper admission of an involuntary confession, failure to instruct the jury on presumption of innocence, and improper denial of counsel at a preliminary hearing may be harmless in a particular case. When correctly applied, harmless error and structural error analysis produce identical results with unfair convictions being reversed while fair convictions are affirmed.

In fact, the Supreme Court has found an error to be structural, and thus subject to automatic reversal only in a limited class of cases. The test for determining harmlessness is whether it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have found the defendant guilty absent the error.

The outcome of a harmless error analysis is by necessity fact-specific. What may be harmless within the context of one set of facts may prove to be otherwise within the context of another.

If you believe that you or someone you know has been sentenced unfairly, you will need to hire a good appeal lawyer to assist you with your appeal. There are deadlines for certain documents to be filed in the district court to be able to appeal your sentence, so you should contact an appeal attorney immediately after you have been sentenced. Please contact The Mace Firm to set a consultation with one of our appellate attorneys.

Continue reading " Appealing Sentencing Errors " »

Sam Hurd, a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, was released from his position last week after he allegedly accepted a kilo of cocaine from an undercover cop. Apparently, Hurd was suspected of being a potential drug dealer during the NFL lockout over the summer. Other NFL players may also be going down with Herd due to a report that police have a "list" of players who have a connection to Hurd.

"In a statement released Friday, the special agent in charge of the DEA's Chicago office said the DEA will assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Special Agent Jack Riley promised that the investigation would be treated like any other drug trafficking case and that anybody who breaks the law will go to jail -- whether they're a professional athlete or not.
Hurd told the agent that he was interested in buying five to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute in the Chicago area, the complaint said. He allegedly said he and a co-conspirator already distribute about four kilos of cocaine every week, but their supplier couldn't keep up with his demands. A kilogram is about 2.2 pounds."

Hurd's criminal defense lawyer insists that the player has never sold drugs to other NFL players. "Sam has asked me to address one point, with respect to the rumors that Sam has been supplying drugs to other members of the NFL, out of respect to the NFL, out of respect to teammates and out of respect to other players, he 100 percent denies that allegation," Brett Greenfield said. "It is patently and totally false. It just didn't happen."

When Hurd appeared in court, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing, which means that prosecutors will take the case before a grand jury. He faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine if his is convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.

This isn't Hurds first run-in with authorities. Earlier this year, $88,000 in cash was seized in a car he owned in Dallas. The money was found in the car after Hurd said he dropped the car off at a shop for maintenance work. The vehicle was pulled over when the money was found, but Hurd was not the driver, so he was never charged with anything.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a crime related to drugs, call one of the experienced criminal defense lawyers at The Mace Firm. Our drug trafficking lawyers are ready to speak with you about your case. Call today to schedule your free consultation with a Myrtle Beach defense lawyer today.

Continue reading " Chicago Bears WR Released from Jail, then Team " »

Insurance fraud involves the submission of fraudulent insurance claims in order to gain money or property. The intention to defraud the insurance company is the focus of this type of crime. Insurance fraud investigations maintain a rigorous and thorough procedure that is utilized to not only determine the validity of any and all insurance claims, but also to study patterns and trends within insurance claims with the hopes of catching individuals attempting to commit acts of insurance fraud.

The following are the most common types of insurance fraud:

1) Health insurance fraud
• Exaggerated injuries reported to an insurance company
• Falsified medical documents, which can include medical reports or medical bills reported to the insurance company
• Falsification of events that had taken place resulting in an injury, which are reported to the insurance company.

2) Life insurance fraud
• The falsification of death records or death notices reported to the insurance company
• The murder of an individual in order to collect the life insurance policy belonging to them
• Marrying an elderly person or a person at a high risk for death in the attempt to collect their life insurance policy.

3) Government insurance fraud
• The submission of fraudulent financial reports in order to collect welfare or government assistance
• The submission of fraudulent employment claims in order to receive unemployment benefits
• The submission of false reports of pregnancy in order to unlawfully receive maternity benefits
• The submission of fraudulent claims with regard to an injury sustained in order to unlawfully collect worker’s compensation.

Individuals are encouraged to consult with an insurance fraud attorney specializing in criminal law and, if possible, those who focus on criminal law and defense. In the preparation of a defense, the individual may be asked to provide the nature of the insurance fraud in question, any included threats, the biographical information with regard to any and all victims, any previous arrests and/or convictions, evidence and witness testimony, full account of the details surrounding the event in question, and the arrangement for bail or bond.

If you or someone you know has been charged with insurance fraud, call one of the experienced fraud lawyers at The Mace Firm. Our Myrtle Beach fraud attorney is ready to speak with you about your case today.

Continue reading " Insurance Fraud " »

Paul Lindemann is being sentenced for a federal felony: conspiracy to commit application fraud. Three legal experts think Lindemann will be sentenced to a prison term of anywhere from several months to over two years. Lindemann was claiming he was earning almost $36,000 a month so he could get a loan of close to one million dollars. The loan was for a house in Tega Cay and Lindemann had plans to flip the house in exchange for a lot of money.

There is no proof that Lindemann misused any public money. In fact, the crime happened while he was working as a county councilman and his duties included overseeing a public budget of millions of dollars. Reportedly, he spoke very often about fiscal responsibility, about not spending money people don't have. In this case, Lindemann wanted to use the bank's money (someone else's money) to make a profit from the sale of the house. When he was caught, he pleaded poverty and got the tax payers to pay his legal fees because he was represented by a public defender.

Also in York county, a woman has been convicted of defrauding 14 mortgage lenders and 34 homeowners in Cumberland, Dauphin, York, and Adams Counties out of more than $6.2 million between 2006 and 2008. Joanne Seeley was found guilty after a 6-day trial on 4 counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering. Seeley was a real estate agent in Pennsylvania until 2006. In 2007, she became the primary owner and operator of a business called S&D Property Solutions. Testimony during the trial showed that Seeley devised and implemented a "foreclosure rescue/equity skim scheme" that fraudulently lead 14 mortgage lenders into lending over $6.2 million in loans between 2006 and 2008.

Here is how her scheme worked: Seeley would find a home scheduled for sheriff's sale and tell the homeowner he/she could avoid foreclosure by selling the home to her or one of her investor/buyers, who would then lease the property back to the homeowner after it's sold. Seeley assured the homeowner the sale would allow them to pay off their debts, help them rebuild their credit rating, and allow them to qualify for a new mortgage when they re-purchase the home in one year. Seeley also promised the homeowners that any equity they had in the house would be held in escrow by the buyer after the sale and be used as the seller's down payment. Seeley recruited several investors/buyers and lead them into participating in her program by telling them they would be reimbursed for all expenses, including their down payment plus an $8,000 "fee" for the transaction after the closing. Seeley also told the buyers they would receive monthly rent payments from homeowners that would cover most, maybe all, of their mortgage payments.

Seeley also submitted redacted sales contracts to the lenders that concealed the fact the buyer and seller had entered into buy-back agreements and the buyer's down payment was refunded to the buyer from the loan proceeds.

The trial revealed that Seeley used a large chunk of the $6.2 million in loans, approximately $2.3 million, for personal use. Seeley would charge the distressed homeowner an extremely high commission, close to 50%, equal to the homeowner's equity in the property. Later, Seeley would simply have the homeowners sign over their entire sales proceeds checks to S&D Property Solutions. Contrary to what the homeowners were promised, no funds were ever escrowed on their behalf. Instead, Seeley spent the money on her personal expenses and no homeowner was ever able to buy their home back.

If you or someone you know has been charged with mortgage fraud, you will need to speak with an experienced mortgage fraud lawyer in your area. The Mace Firm's mortgage fraud attorney in Myrtle Beach is ready to speak with you about your case. Call today to schedule your free consultation with a Myrtle Beach fraud lawyer.

Continue reading " York County Mortgage Fraud " »

Drug trafficking is the act of transporting a large quantity of illegal drugs or controlled substances with the intent to unlawful sell, distribute, or deliver. Drug trafficking is considered to be an illegal commercial activity, which is typically defined as a felony. The amount of illegal drugs or controlled substances to quantify the classification of ‘large’ varies depending on the location of the offense.

Unless expressly permitted by the Federal Government, the result of a medical prescription, or a medically sanctioned measure for the treatment of a disease, the possession of drugs or controlled substances is a crime. While some illegal and controlled substances are organic and natural in their purest state, other drugs are synthetic and produced as a result of chemical processing. A controlled substance is a drug or substance that is considered to be legal in the event that it is possessed by individuals legally allowed its use. Controlled substances include pharmaceuticals and other items that require expressed, governmental permission for their possession and/or usage. An illegal drug is defined as a drug or substance deemed illegal to possess, use, sell, purchase, or manufacture.

Drug sales are classified as the act of selling or commercially distributing illegal drugs or controlled substances. However, drug trafficking classifies the activity of drug sales in the event that the amount of drugs intended for sales in the event that it exceeds quantity associated with ‘distribution’. Drug trafficking is considered to be the most severe and punishable offense with regard to the illegal sale of drugs.

In the event that a person is placed under arrest for the alleged participation in drug trafficking, they are encouraged to abide by all protocol and procedure set forth by the arresting officer. Individuals accused of and subsequently arrested for drug trafficking charges are entitled the same rights expressed in the Constitution of the United States.

In the event that an individual experiences difficulties or failure to fully understand stipulations set forth in a subpoena to appear in court as a result of being charged with a drug trafficking offense, they are encouraged to consult with a criminal defense lawyer specializing in the field of Drug Trafficking, in additional to trial law, criminal law, drug possession, and defense.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a crime, call one of the experienced Myrtle Beach criminal defense lawyers at The Mace Firm. Our criminal defense attorneys in Myrtle Beach are ready to speak with you about your case.

Continue reading " Drug Trafficking " »

Late last week, a federal jury in Minneapolis, concluding that South Carolina-based Mercantile Bank helped the music mogul defraud his lenders, awarded $16 million to 26 banks. The award stems from a failed $28.5 million loan received by boy band creator, Lou Pearlman. Pearlman was the music mogul behind the musical acts Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync. He’s serving a 25-year sentence in Texas after pleading guilty to running a Ponzi scheme and bilking banks and investors out of $300 million or more. But in 2006, he still looked to most like a successful business tycoon, with a fleet of aircraft in addition to his various music and entertainment ventures.

The group of smaller, community banks agreed to lend $28.5 million to Pearlman to finance an American version of a British television show called "Top of the Pops." Pearlman defaulted on the loan fairly quickly while his business operation unraveled. He was arrested in Indonesia in 2007 after fleeing authorities. American Bank sued him that year, but Pearlman’s operation filed for bankruptcy, and he turned out to be completely broke.

American Bank sued the Twin Cities loan broker that shopped the Pearlman deal to various banks: North American Capital Markets and its executives Stuart Harrington and Craig Mueller. But North American, based in Golden Valley, filed for Chapter 7 voluntary bankruptcy in 2009. American Bank then turned its scope on Mercantile Bank. The bank, based in Greenville, S.C., operated widely in Florida and did business with Pearlman in Orlando, Pearlman’s home base. In 2005, Pearlman had defaulted on a $6 million line of credit from Mercantile and Mercantile was trying to restructure it.

The kicker of this story is that Mercantile Bank had extensive knowledge about Pearlman’s bank fraud, American Bank argued, including the fact that the two accountants who prepared Pearlman’s financial records were fictitious. The jury trial started Nov. 7 and the most damning evidence was an email from one Mercantile employee to another saying that a loan analyst had figured out that Pearlman’s accountants did not exist and that they had asked Pearlman to exit the bank. Bank reps were actually presented with financial documents and tax returnes that they thought were prepared by real CPA's.

If you or someone you know has been charged with fraud, call one of the experienced Myrtle Beach fraud lawyers at The Mace Firm. Our fraud attorney is ready to speak with you about your case today.

Continue reading " Boy Band Manger and Fraud " »

Robert Sasser of Lexington, South Carolina was sentenced in federal court for wire fraud. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was ordered to pay about $1.6 million to Wells Fargo Bank. Sasser used to be a realtor and mortgage broker in West Columbia. His charges are based on acquiring loans that were collateralized by modular homes that were extremely overvalued. Wachoiva Mortgage Corporation financed these eight loans for about $2.5 million. Loan documents had several false statements that revealed the loans were fraudulent. Among the falsifications were misstated income and asset information, forged signatures and misleading down payments. Since these loans went into foreclosure, Wachovia, now Wells Fargo, suffered a loss of about $1.6 million.

Early last year, Michael A. Wilson, 58, of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to bank fraud. In November 2009, multiple indictments were returned by a federal grand jury against thirteen defendants, including Wilson, on a variety of mortgage fraud charges arising out of the collapse of Desert Sun Development (“DSD”), a commercial and residential construction company headquartered in Bend, Oregon. It all started when Wilson moved from South Carolina to Bend, Oregon where he joined DSD as a construction superintendent. In 2007, while working for DSD, Wilson fraudulently obtained two loans in his wife’s name as her attorney-in-fact for the purchase and refinance of a DSD constructed home. To close the first loan to purchase the home for $530,000, DSD principals provided a cashier’s check for approximately $112,000 at closing, falsely claiming that it was Wilson’s money.

Shortly thereafter Wilson sought to refinance the loan. To qualify for the refinance, Wilson was required to show that he had at least $47,000 in his bank account. Because he did not have sufficient funds of his own, DSD principals temporarily deposited DSD money into his account to make it falsely appear that he did. A letter was drafted at DSD to falsely explain that the origin of the $47,000 deposit was Wilson’s semi-annual bonus from DSD. Wilson signed the letter as his wife. Additionally, Wilson signed a loan application on behalf of his wife, falsely asserting that she had worked for DSD for the past two years, earning $15,000 per month. Based on these fraudulent documents, the bank approved a loan for $500,000, but required that Wilson bring $42,000 of his own money to closing. Not having the money, Wilson again used DSD money for that purpose. Relying, in part, on the fraudulent documents, banks approved and funded the loans for Wilson’s home. Wilson was unable to make the monthly mortgage payments and defaulted. The bank foreclosed and took possession of the residence. The current loss associated with Wilson’s conduct is approximately $360,000.

Bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. If you or someone you know has been charged with fraud, call one of the mortgage fraud attorneys at The Mace Firm. The mortgage fraud attorneys in Myrtle Beach are ready to speak with you about your case. Call to schedule your free consultation.

Continue reading " Lexington Man Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud " »