U.S. v. Sackett, 782
| Decision Date | 01 May 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 782,D,782 |
| Citation | 598 F.2d 739 |
| Parties | 4 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 872 UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Phillip L. SACKETT, Defendant-Appellant. ocket 78-1288. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Arthur A. Chalenski, Jr., Asst. U. S. Atty., Syracuse, N. Y. (George H. Lowe, U. S. Atty. of the Northern District of New York, Syracuse, N. Y., of counsel), for appellee.
Earl D. Butler, Vestal, N. Y., for defendant-appellant.
Before LUMBARD and OAKES, Circuit Judges, and BRIEANT, District Judge. *
Defendant Phillip L. Sackett appeals from a judgment of conviction entered August 10, 1978 after a jury trial before Judge Munson in the Northern District of New York on an indictment charging Sackett with making a false statement for the purpose of influencing a federally-insured bank on a loan application in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014. Sackett argues that his conviction should be reversed (1) because he never signed the loan application form at issue but made only oral misstatements, and (2) because the jury verdict was not supported by competent evidence. We affirm.
On March 30, 1976, Sackett was being trained to become a branch manager for the Endicott Bank of New York, having previously been employed for two years as a loan collector at the same bank. On March 30, he telephoned Gary Oliver, a personal friend who worked at Bankers Trust of Binghamton and whose responsibilities included processing loan applications and granting loans. Sackett asked Oliver whether he could obtain a loan for his mother, Mary L. Watson, so that she could buy a 1976 Ford Thunderbird. Sackett agreed to co-sign for the loan since his mother had only recently moved to the area.
When Oliver indicated that a loan to Sackett's mother could be arranged, Sackett proceeded to give Oliver all the information necessary for Oliver to fill out the application forms. As a personal favor to Sackett, Oliver agreed to fill out the required forms over the telephone, avoiding an extra trip to the bank. Sackett admitted that he knew at the time that Oliver was transcribing onto the loan application form the information he was communicating over the telephone.
As Oliver went through the form line by line, Sackett provided him with the information needed to fill out each item. Sackett did not, however, disclose that he and his mother, as joint obligors, had taken out a loan for $37,200 from the Endicott Bank of New York, Sackett's employer, in November 1975. Sackett had used the proceeds of this loan to purchase a motor home which he registered in his name. As of March 30, 1976, Sackett and his mother still owed $35,960 on this loan.
When Oliver asked Sackett whether his mother owned a car, and whether there were any monies due on the vehicle, Sackett did not mention the motor home. When Oliver asked Sackett whether his mother had any outstanding debts, Sackett replied "None at all. . . ." When Oliver asked Sackett whether he had any outstanding debts, Sackett said that his only outstanding debt was $750 owed to the Endicott Bank of New York. Sackett admitted that Oliver accurately transcribed onto the loan application forms the information he gave him over the telephone, with the single exception of the failure to note Mrs. Watson's obligations under the motor home note. Sackett testified at trial that he had fully disclosed this debt to Oliver. Oliver, however, testified that Sackett did not tell him about this loan for the motor home. The jury believed Oliver and not Sackett.
Later that day, Oliver obtained the necessary credit bureau checks and the approval of his superior for the loan. Although neither Oliver nor his superior would have approved the loan had they known of the motor home indebtedness, they gave their approval on the ground that Mrs. Watson would be able to make payments totalling $242 monthly.
On April 1, 1976, Oliver called Sackett and told him that the loan had been approved. Sackett traveled to the bank office and picked up the note and the security agreement. At home, his wife signed the documents and Sackett signed for his mother.
On April 2, 1976, Sackett returned to the bank with the note and the security agreement. Oliver then showed Sackett both Sackett's and Mrs. Watson's application forms. Sackett signed his own application form, the promissory note, and the agreement, but he did not sign his mother's application form, even though bank procedures would normally require that he do so. Sackett then took the check for $9,103 from Oliver.
Since Mrs. Watson was the primary obligor on this loan, life insurance in an amount equal to the outstanding balance was available for Mrs. Watson without physical examination. Sackett procured such insurance. On April 22, 1976, Mrs. Watson died and the life insurance company paid off the loan in the amount of $11,653.92. On March 27, 1976, three days before Sackett applied for the auto loan, Mrs. Watson had executed a will bequeathing her entire estate to Sackett. Accordingly, while the life insurance company was left to pay off the car loan, Sackett inherited both the new car and the motor home. According to the government, these events came as no surprise to Sackett, but rather, followed a carefully laid plan which received its genesis in March, 1976, when Sackett first learned that his mother was dying from cancer.
On February 14, 1978, a three-count indictment was filed in the Northern District of New York charging Sackett with violating 18 U.S.C. § 1014, which provides that:
Whoever knowingly makes any false statement or report . . . for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of . . . a Federal Savings and Loan Association . . . upon any application . . . or loan . . . shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
All three counts of the indictment relate to the circumstances described above surrounding the making of the loan to Mrs. Watson, for which Sackett was the co-signer. Counts I and III charged Sackett with misrepresenting his own prior indebtedness. Count II charged him with misrepresenting his mother's prior indebtedness. After a three-day trial, the jury found Sackett guilty on Count II.
Sackett's principal claim on appeal is that 18 U.S.C. § 1014 does not embrace oral statements. Since he never signed his mother's application form, he claims that he did not make a written misstatement and that he therefore did not violate § 1014. Our review of the statute and of the cases,...
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