United States Sixth Circuit

In a prosecution arising from a marriage between defendant's adopted daughter/cousin and defendant's adoptive father as part of a plan to collect his military pension, her conviction for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense and making material false statements to a federal agent is affirmed where: 1) the government could not rely on its sham-marriage theory because the district court did not instruct the jury as to such argument; 2) the district court correctly decided that the marriage was void under Arkansas state law; 3) even if the Arkansas marriage statute were unconstitutional, it was not plain error for the district court to apply it; 4) sufficient evidence supported the convictions; 5) a jury instruction regarding Arkansas law was not plainly erroneous; and 6) withheld taxes are properly considered part of the government's loss under U.S.S.G. section 2B1.1.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/29/2008
• Published 05/29/2008

Judges

• Before:  SILER, MOORE, and GILMAN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Sixth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Gregory A. Woosley, Lexington, Kentucky, for Appellant.   Andrew Sparks, Assistant United States Attorney, Lexington, Kentucky, for Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  Gregory A. Woosley, Lexington, Kentucky, Roy Burl McCoy, Jr., Stoll Keenon Ogden, Lexington, Kentucky, for Appellant.   Charles P. Wisdom, Jr., Assistant United States Attorney, Lexington, Kentucky, Elaine K. Leonhard, Assistant United States Attorney, Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, for Appellee.