United States v. Sheneman

• Decision Date: 01 June 2012
• Docket Number: No. 11–3161.,11–3161.
• Citation: 682 F.3d 623
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Michael SHENEMAN, Defendant–Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

682 F.3d 623

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee,

v.Michael SHENEMAN, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 11–3161.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued April 13, 2012.

Decided June 1, 2012.

Emily Kathleen Kerkhof (argued), Office of the United States Attorney, Hammond, IN, for Plaintiff–Appellee.

David P. Jones (argued), Newby, Lewis, Kaminski & Jones, LLP, LaPorte, IN, for Defendant–Appellant.

Before BAUER, KANNE, and TINDER, Circuit Judges.

KANNE, Circuit Judge.

Michael Sheneman and his son Jeremie engaged in an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme that convinced unwitting buyers to purchase a large number of properties they could neither afford nor rent out after purchasing (as they had planned). As part of the scheme, mortgage lenders were duped into financing these ill-advised purchases through various misrepresentations about the buyers and their financial stability. All told, four buyers with few assets and no experience in the real estate market purchased sixty homes. Most of the homes were eventually foreclosed upon, and the buyers and lenders each suffered significant losses. Sheneman was subsequently convicted of four counts of wire fraud and sentenced to ninety-seven months' imprisonment. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, as well as the district court's application of two sentencing enhancements. We find none of these contentions meritorious, and accordingly affirm his conviction and sentence.

I. Background

From 2003 to 2005, Sheneman and Jeremie worked in tandem to defraud both real estate buyers and mortgage lenders through a series of calculated misrepresentations. Generally speaking, their plan involved acquiring control over a large number of rental properties, inducing buyers to purchase the properties through a host of false promises, and ensuring that lenders would finance the purchases by falsifying loan documents and misrepresenting the buyers' financial standing.

Sheneman and Jeremie began by acquiring control over a large number of rental properties being sold by landlords in the South Bend and Mishawaka areas of Indiana. Many of these sellers had difficulty renting out their properties—some were in very poor condition—and were, by and large, simply looking to cut their losses and walk away from the homes with their mortgages and taxes paid. They agreed to sell their properties to either Sheneman or Jeremie, both of whom had a reputation for “flipping” homes and selling them at a profit. Although most sellers believed they had sold their properties directly to either Sheneman or Jeremie, the sellers had in fact merely granted one of the two power of attorney over their properties.¹ By exercising powers of attorney, Sheneman and Jeremie took control over the properties without ever appearing on any chain of title. The sellers, for their part, did not notice much of a practical difference. Each seller received the amount of money agreed upon as the selling price—albeit not from a title company, as would normally be the case, but directly from either Sheneman or Jeremie. After they “flipped” the houses and sold them to new buyers for more than the seller's asking price, Sheneman and Jeremie then endorsed and deposited the checks issued by the title company directly into their own accounts, yielding them hefty profits.

Once granted control, Sheneman and Jeremie then set about searching for buyers to purchase the dilapidated properties. Eventually, they found their marks, selling sixty properties to four buyers with no relevant real estate experience: Gladys Zoleko, a Cameroonian citizen in the United States on a student visa, bought fifteen homes; Paul Davies, a Liberian citizen also on a student visa, bought fourteen homes; David Dootlittle, an electrician, bought twenty-one homes; and Gary Denaway, a maintenance worker, bought ten homes. For each buyer, a very similar pattern of conduct transpired.

Sheneman and Jeremie made a wide range of promises to the buyers—false promises, as it turns out—in order to induce the sales. The buyers were all looking for an additional source of income, and Sheneman promised them just that. Significant profits could be made by purchasing homes and then renting them out—the more homes purchased, the bigger the profit. The homes were all in excellent condition, buyers were assured, and either Sheneman or Jeremie would make any necessary repairs. There was also little risk because most of the homes already had paying tenants living in them, and Sheneman and Jeremie would help find new tenants for vacant homes. And if the buyers ever wanted to get out of the real estate business, Sheneman and Jeremie promised to buy back properties that they no longer wanted. Perhaps most enticing of all, Sheneman and Jeremie also promised to cover all down payments and closing costs. The buyers, despite their relatively modest incomes, could therefore purchase a large number of homes and begin earning an immediate profit—without having to spend a dime out-of-pocket. They jumped at the chance.

The buyers, for their part, ignored some clear red flags. Most obviously, they were only permitted to see one or two of the properties they were purchasing prior to closing. The other homes, buyers were told, had tenants already living in them and a visit to those homes might disturb the tenants. But the buyers were assured that the other homes were all in similar condition and located in comparable neighborhoods.

Buyers filled out only minimal paperwork throughout the process. Sheneman brought each potential buyer to Superior Mortgage, a mortgage broker where Jeremie worked as a loan officer.² There, each buyer completed a few documents with some very basic information. Shortly thereafter, Jeremie informed the buyer that he or she was approved to buy a large number of properties. In order to ensure that mortgage lenders approved the loan applications, however, Jeremie falsified key parts of the documents. Among other misrepresentations, numerous loan applications falsely stated the buyers' citizenship, employment status, and finances, and the buyers' signature on many documents was often forged.

Beyond falsifying documents, Sheneman and Jeremie took other steps to secure financing from lenders and ensure the closings took place. First, they artificially inflated buyers' bank accounts, depositing tens of thousands of dollars in order to make it appear as though the buyers had sufficient assets to take on the loans. After the transactions were completed, the money was returned to Sheneman and Jeremie. Second, they masked the buyers' financial infirmities from lenders by utilizing certified checks to cover down payments and closing costs. Lenders therefore had no way of knowing that the buyers were not the true source behind these payments, as the loan documents contemplated.

After closing, each of the buyers quickly discovered that the deals they were promised were too good to be true. A number of the newly purchased homes were hardly habitable. Some had faulty plumbing, others had significant mold and termite damage, and yet others had structural damage and leaky roofs. Moreover, paying tenants were difficult to come by. Many of the homes did not have tenants living in them—despite previous assurances to the contrary—while others had tenants who never paid rent. Often, the few homes that the buyers had actually viewed prior to closing were not even included among the properties they had purchased. Many of the properties were also located in worse neighborhoods than the ones they had visited.

When the buyers contacted Sheneman and Jeremie to repair the homes or assist them in finding tenants, as they had promised to do, they were suddenly difficult to reach. The buyers' calls would often be ignored, or Sheneman and Jeremie would hang up when the buyers began complaining. In the end, Sheneman and Jeremie made very few repairs to the properties and reneged on their promise to buy any of them back. Unsurprisingly, each of the buyers was soon unable to make timely mortgage payments. Of the sixty properties: thirty-six were foreclosed upon, eleven were deeded back to the lender in lieu of foreclosure, six were demolished by the city, and four were sold in tax sales.³

Sheneman and Jeremie were indicted on October 13, 2010, and charged with four counts ⁴ of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. After a four-day jury trial, they were convicted on all four counts. At sentencing, the district court calculated Sheneman's advisory sentencing guidelines range to be 87 to 108 months' imprisonment. In doing so, the court applied several sentencing enhancements, including enhancements for a loss amount of more than $1 million, using sophisticated means, having ten or more victims, and gaining more than $1 million in gross receipts from a financial institution. The district court then sentenced Sheneman to 97 months' imprisonment.

II. Analysis

On appeal, Sheneman challenges the sufficiency of the evidence underlying his conviction for wire fraud. He also challenges two of the district court's findings at sentencing that resulted in sentencing enhancements, arguing: (1) that the loss amount was not in excess of $1 million, and (2) that the offense did not involve the use of sophisticated means. We take each of these arguments in turn.

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Sheneman first challenges his conviction, arguing there was insufficient evidence to establish wire fraud. Typically, we will reverse a conviction only where the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the government, is “devoid of evidence from which a reasonable jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Durham, 645 F.3d 883, 892 (7th Cir.2011), cert. denied,––– U.S. ––––, 132 S.Ct. 1537, 182 L.Ed.2d 175 (2012). Although we have characterized this standard as “highly deferential” and “nearly insurmountable,” the even more...