United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564 (11th Cir. 1995). · Go Syfert
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564 (11th Cir. 1995). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
150 citation events (69 in the last 25 years) across 17 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: United States v. Joan Estadella (ca11, 2026-02-20)
Treatment trajectory · 1995 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
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Top citers, strongest first. 50 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Joan Estadella
11th Cir. · 2026 · confidence medium
At this stage, we need not conclude that the evidence refutes every one of Estadella’s possible theories of his innocence because our only task on sufficiency-of-the-evidence review is to determine “whether a jury reasonably could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Moran, 57 F.4th 977, 981 (11th Cir. 2023) (citation modified); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 570 (11th Cir. 1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Discotheque, Inc. v. Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia
11th Cir. · 2022 · confidence medium
And with that narrowing construction, any potential overbreadth is not “substantial” in relation to the pro- vision’s legitimate sweep and “can be handled on a case-by-case ba- sis.” See id.; United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 569 (11th Cir. 1995) (overbreadth “is not to be invoked when a limiting construc- tion has been or could be placed on the challenged statute”).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Coalition for Good Governance v. Raffensperger
N.D. Ga. · 2021 · confidence medium
See Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124, 149 (2007) (noting that where “intent . . . must be proved to impose liability,” the “scienter requirements alleviate vagueness concerns”); Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104 , 114 (1972) (finding that a noise ordinance was not impermissibly vague, despite the discretion it afforded police officers, in part because the statute required that the prohibited acts be “‘willfully’ done”); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995) (“‘A statutory requirement that an act must be willful or purposeful may not render cert…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Kelvin Leon Jones v. Governor of Florida
11th Cir. · 2020 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995); see also Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124, 149 (2007) (“The Court has made clear that scienter requirements alleviate vagueness concerns.”).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Kelvin Leon Jones v. Governor of Florida
11th Cir. · 2020 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995); see also Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124, 149 (2007) (“The Court has made clear that scienter requirements alleviate vagueness concerns.”).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Harold Coley
11th Cir. · 2019 · confidence medium
With respect to mail embezzling, “the government must prove specific intent to defraud,” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995), but “circumstantial evidence of criminal intent can suffice.” United States v. Suba, 132 F.3d 662, 673 (11th Cir. 1998).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Kenneth Karow
11th Cir. · 2018 · confidence medium
Our precedent provides that “[p]roof of a routine practice of using the mail to accomplish a business end is sufficient to support a jury’s determination that mailing occurred in a particular instance.” 11 Case: 14-14689 Date Filed: 01/31/2018 Page: 12 of 31 United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 571 (11th Cir. 1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Kenneth Karow
11th Cir. · 2018 · confidence medium
Our precedent provides that “[p]roof of a routine practice of using the mail to accomplish a business end is sufficient to support a jury’s determination that mailing occurred in a particular instance.” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 571 (11th Cir. 1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. James Deon Korfhage
11th Cir. · 2017 · confidence medium
“A statute is not unconstitutionally vague if it ‘defíne[s] the criminal offense with sufficient definiteness that ordinary people can understand what conduct is prohibited and in a manner that does not encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.’” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995) (quoting Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 357 , 103 S.Ct. 1855, 1858 , 75 L.Ed.2d 903 (1983)) (alteration in original).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Stanley P. Phillips
11th Cir. · 2016 · confidence medium
See Schmuck, 489 U.S. at 713-14 , 109 S.Ct. at 1449-50 (holding that the mailing of innocent title applications after a fraudulent sale took place to complete the transaction was part of a fraudulent scheme because they were necessary for the passage of title); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 569-70 (11th Cir.1995) (holding that the innocent act of mailing checks supplied the mailing element for the defendant’s mail-fraud conviction because the mailings were in furtherance of the scheme to defraud).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Hepp v. Paul Revere Life Insurance
M.D. Fla. · 2015 · confidence medium
An affirmative duty to disclose,need not be explicitly imposed; it may instead be implicit in the relationship between the parties.” Ayres v. General Motors Corp., 234 F.3d 514, 521 (11th Cir.2000) (quoting United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 571 (11th Cir.1995)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Tony DeVaughn Nelson
11th Cir. · 2013 · confidence medium
In addition to depriving her constituents of their right to her honest services, she seeks to ensure that the actions the Board takes are in her own bests interests instead of the best interest of the public. 102 F.2d at 1168 (internal citations omitted). 23 Case: 12-11066 Date Filed: 03/13/2013 Page: 24 of 39 Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995) (citing Colautti v. Franklin, 439 U.S. 379, 395 (1979)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Tony DeVaughn Nelson
11th Cir. · 2013 · confidence medium
In addition to depriving her constituents of their right to her honest services, she seeks to ensure that the actions the Board takes are in her own bests interests instead of the best interest of the public. 102 F.2d at 1168 (internal citations omitted). 23 Case: 12-11066 Date Filed: 03/13/2013 Page: 24 of 39 Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995) (citing Colautti v. Franklin, 439 U.S. 379, 395 (1979)).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Morgan Chase Woods
11th Cir. · 2012 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1995). 11 .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Morgan Chase Woods
11th Cir. · 2012 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995). 19 “fails to provide a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what is prohibited, or is so standardless that it authorizes or encourages seriously discriminatory enforcement.” United States v. Williams, 553 U.S. 285, 304 , 128 S. Ct. 1830, 1845 (2008); accord United States v. Wayerski, 624 F.3d 1342, 1347 (11th Cir. 2010).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Langford (2×) also: Cited "see"
11th Cir. · 2011 · confidence medium
However, we have said that honest services fraud “may be proved through the defendant’s non-action or nondisclosure of material facts intended to create a false and fraudulent representation.” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 571 (11th Cir.1995); see also United States v. Browne, 505 F.3d 1229, 1265 (11th Cir.2007) (“[A] defendant’s non-action or non-disclosure of material facts intended to create a false and fraudulent representation may constitute a violation of the mail fraud statute where the defendant had a duty, explicit or implicit, to disclose material information.”).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Larry P. Langford (2×) also: Cited "see"
11th Cir. · 2011 · confidence medium
However, we have said that honest services fraud “may be proved through the defendant’s non-action or non-disclosure of material facts intended to create a false and fraudulent representation.” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 571 (11th Cir. 1995); see also United States v. Browne, 505 F.3d 1229, 1265 (11th Cir. 2007) (“[A] defendant’s non-action or non-disclosure of material facts intended to create a false and fraudulent representation may constitute a violation of the mail fraud statute where the defendant had a duty, explicit or implicit, to disclose material information.”…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Schmitz (2×)
11th Cir. · 2011 · confidence medium
"While a mailing is a required element of a § 1341 claim, the use of the mails need not be an essential element of the scheme; for a mail fraud conviction, it is sufficient if the government shows that the mailing was `incident to an essential part of the scheme' or `a step in the plot.'" United States v. Lee, 427 F.3d 881, 887 (11th Cir.2005) (citing United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 569 (11th Cir.1995)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Stayton v. United States
M.D. Ala. · 2011 · confidence medium
In the Eleventh Circuit, cases rejecting constitutional challenges to § 1346 included: United States v. Hasner, 340 F.3d 1261, 1268-69 (11th Cir.2003) (rejecting void for vagueness challenge), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 810 , 125 S.Ct. 38 , 160 L.Ed.2d 12 (2004); United States v. Paradies, 98 F.3d 1266, 1282-83 (11th Cir.1996) (same), cert. denied, 522 U.S. *1267 1014, 118 S.Ct. 598 , 139 L.Ed.2d 487 (1997); United States v. Castro, 89 F.3d 1443, 1455-56 (11th Cir.1996) (same), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1118 , 117 S.Ct. 965 , 136 L.Ed.2d 850 (1997); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568-69 (11th…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Skilling v. United States
SCOTUS · 2010 · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Rybicki, 354 F.3d 124, 132 (CA2 2003) (en banc); United States v. Hausmann, 345 F.3d 952, 958 (CA7 2003); United States v. Welch, 327 F.3d 1081, 1109, n. 29 (CA10 2003); United States v. Frega, 179 F.3d 793, 803 (CA9 1999); Brumley, 116 F.3d, at 732-733 ; United States v. Frost, 125 F.3d 346, 370-372 (CA6 1997); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568-569 (CA11 1995); United States v. Bryan, 58 F.3d 933, 941 (CA4 1995). .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Skilling v. United States
SCOTUS · 2010 · confidence medium
See, e. g., United States v. Rybicki, 354 F. 3d 124, 132 (CA2 2003) (en banc); United States v. Hausmann, 345 F. 3d 952, 958 (CA7 2003); United States v. Welch, 327 F. 3d 1081, 1109, n. 29 (CA10 2003); United States v. Frega, 179 F. 3d 793, 803 (CA9 1999); Brumley, 116 F. 3d, at 732-733 ; United States v. Frost, 125 F. 3d 346 , 370-372 (CA6 1997); United States v. Waymer, 55 F. 3d 564, 568-569 (CA11 1995); United States v. Bryan, 58 F. 3d 933, 941 (CA4 1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Gene A. Tyrrell
11th Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
Furthermore, “[p]roof of a routine practice of using the mail to accomplish a business end is sufficient to support a jury’s determination that mailing occurred in a particular instance.” U.S. v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 571 (11th Cir.1995).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Browne
11th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 571 (11th Cir.1995). *1266 Federal law imposes fiduciary responsibility upon labor union officials.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Warner
7th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Rybicki, 354 F.3d 124, 132 (2d Cir.2003) (en banc) ; United States v. Bryan, 58 F.3d 933, 941 (4th Cir.1995); United States v. Gray, 96 F.3d 769, 776-77 (5th Cir.1996); United States v. Brumley, 116 F.3d 728 , (5th Cir.1997) ( en banc ); United States v. Frost, 125 F.3d 346, 370-71 (6th Cir.1997); United States v. Frega, 179 F.3d 793, 803 (9th Cir.1999); United States v. Welch, 327 F.3d 1081 , 1109 n. 29 (10th Cir.2003); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Warner, Lawrence E.
7th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Rybicki, 354 F.3d 124, 132 (2d Cir. 2003) (en banc); United States v. Bryan, 58 F.3d 933, 941 (4th Cir. 1995); United States v. Gray, 96 F.3d 769, 776-77 (5th Cir. 1996); United States v. Brumley, 116 F.3d 728, 732 (5th Cir. 1997) (en banc); United States v. Frost, 125 F.3d 346, 370-71 (6th Cir. 1997); United States v. Frega, 179 F.3d 793, 803 (9th Cir. 1999); United States v. Welch, 327 F.3d 1081 , 1109 n.29 (10th Cir. 2003); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Warner, Lawrence E. (2×)
7th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Rybicki, 354 F.3d 124, 132 (2d Cir. 2003) (en banc); United States v. Bryan, 58 F.3d 933, 941 (4th Cir. 1995); United States v. Gray, 96 F.3d 769, 776-77 (5th Cir. 1996); United States v. Brumley, 116 F.3d 728 , (5th Cir. 1997) (en banc); United States v. Frost, 125 F.3d 346, 370-71 (6th Cir. 1997); United States v. Frega, 179 F.3d 793, 803 (9th Cir. 1999); United States v. Welch, 327 F.3d 1081 , 1109 n29 (10th Cir. 2003); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir. 1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Robertson
11th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
As “[p]roof of a routine practice of using the mail to accomplish a business end is sufficient to support a jury’s determination that mailing occurred,” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 571 (11th Cir.1995), proof of a routine practice of using the wires to accomplish a business end is sufficient to support a count of wire fraud.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Charles W. Walker, Sr.
11th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
The honest services provision of the mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346 , “allows the United States to predicate a mail fraud prosecution on a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right to honest services.” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1995) (internal quo *1297 tation marks omitted). 16 The term “honest services” is not defined in the statute, but we have found that “when a political official uses his office for personal gain, he deprives his constituents of their right to have him perform his official duties in their best interest.” Uni…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Philip Morris USA, Inc. (2×)
D.D.C. · 2006 · confidence medium
Moreover, the mailing or wire transmission need not be essential to the scheme or succeed in deceiving; rather it need only be “for the purpose of executing the scheme.” United States v. Maze, 414 U.S. 395, 400 , 94 S.Ct. 645 , 38 L.Ed.2d 603 (1974); see also United States v. Coyle, 63 F.3d 1239, 1244 (3d Cir.1995); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 569 (11th Cir.1995); Kehr Packages, 926 F.2d at 1413 ; United States v. Haimowitz, 725 F.2d 1561, 1571 (11 Cir.1984); United States v. Garner, 663 F.2d 834, 838 (9th Cir.1981); Reid, 533 F.2d at 1264 .
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Kathy Mills Lee
11th Cir. · 2005 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1995).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Curtis Colwell
11th Cir. · 2005 · confidence medium
See Hasson, 333 F.3d at 1270 (wire fraud); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1995) (mail fraud).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Kirkham
5th Cir. · 2005 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1l995)(holding that, as the bank fraud statute incorporates specific intent as an element, the defendant's vagueness challenge to the statute must fail). 35 .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Ellington
11th Cir. · 2003 · confidence medium
To prove mail fraud, the government must show that the accused “(1) intentionally participated in a scheme or artifice to defraud and (2) used the United States mails to carry out that scheme or artifice.” See United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1995).
examined Cited as authority (rule) Castro v. United States (4×) also: Cited "see", Cited "see, e.g."
S.D. Fla. · 2003 · confidence medium
The Eleventh Circuit has stated that, “[t]o prove mail fraud, the government must show that the accused (1) intentionally participated in a scheme or artifice to defraud and (2) used the United States mails to carry out that scheme or artifice.” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1995), cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1119 , 116 S.Ct. 1350 , 134 L.Ed.2d 519 (1996). 4 “The ‘honest services amendment’ to the mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C.A. § 1346 , allows the United States to predicate a mail fraud prosecution on a ‘scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible rig…
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Vassilios K. Handakas (4×)
2d Cir. · 2002 · confidence medium
Dissent at 113 n. 1 (citing United States v. Frega, 179 F.3d 793, 803 (9th Cir.1999) (rejecting as-applied challenge where scheme involved bribery of state judges); United States v. Frost, 125 F.3d 346, 370-71 (6th Cir.1997) (rejecting facial challenge); United States v. Brumley, 116 F.3d 728, 732-33 (5th Cir.1997) (en banc) (rejecting constitutional challenge based on vagueness where defendant was a state employee who solicited bribes, but noting “some defendants on the outer reaches of the statute might be able to complain that they were not on notice that Congress criminalized their condu…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Ayres v. General Motors Corp.
11th Cir. · 2000 · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Brown, 79 F.3d 1550, 1557 (11th Cir.1996) (holding that nondisclosure can violate the federal fraud statutes where a special relationship of trust, such as a fiduciary relationship, requires disclosure of material facts); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 571 (11th Cir.1995) (“A defendant’s breach of a fiduciary duty may be a predicate for a violation of the mail fraud statute where the breach entails the violation of a duty to disclose material information ....
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Saxe v. State College Area School District
M.D. Penn. · 1999 · confidence medium
See Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 613 , 93 S.Ct. 2908 , 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973) (statute does not violate First Amendment when it is subject to construction which makes it permissible); United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 569 (11th Cir.1995) (same), cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1119 , 116 S.Ct. 1350 , 134 L.Ed.2d 519 (1996).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Shotts
11th Cir. · 1998 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 570 (11th Cir.1995).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Shotts
11th Cir. · 1998 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 574 (11th Cir. 1995).
examined Cited as authority (rule) UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. David W. SUBA, Managed Risk Services, Dennis J. Kelly, Defendants-Appellants (3×) also: Cited "see"
11th Cir. · 1998 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 570 (11th Cir.1995).
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Suba (3×) also: Cited "see"
11th Cir. · 1998 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 570 (11th Cir. 1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Toy Box, Inc. v. Bay County
N.D. Fla. · 1997 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 569 (11th Cir.1995), quoting Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 613 , 93 S.Ct. 2908 , 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973); see also Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance v. Pryor, 110 F.3d 1543, 1550 (11th Cir.1997) (setting forth general rule that facial invalidation for overbreadth is “drastic remedy” that should be applied only if challenged statute is not susceptible to narrowing interpretation).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Frost
6th Cir. · 1997 · confidence medium
See United States v. Sawyer, 878 F.Supp. 279, 290-91 (D.Mass.1995)(§ 1346 not "impermissibly vague 'in all of its applications' "), rev'd on other grounds, 85 F.3d 713 (1st Cir.1996); see also Paradies, 98 F.3d at 1282 -83 (§ 1346 not vague as applied to defendants at issue); Bryan, 58 F.3d at 941-42 (holding the same); Waymer, 55 F.3d at 568-69 (rejecting as-applied vagueness and facial overbreadth challenges to § 1346); United States v. Frega, 933 F.Supp. 1536, 1547 (S.D.Cal.1996)(§ 1346 valid as applied). 112 Congo, joined by his codefendants, also argues that an instruction delivered i…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Frost
6th Cir. · 1997 · confidence medium
See United States v. Sawyer, 878 F.Supp. 279, 290-91 (D.Mass.1995)(§ 1346 not “impermissibly vague ‘in all of its applications’ ”), rev’d on other grounds, 85 F.3d 713 (1st Cir.1996); see also Paradies, 98 F.3d at 1282 -83 (§ 1346 not vague as applied to defendants at issue); Bryan, 58 F.3d at 941-42 (holding the same); Waymer, 55 F.3d at 568-69 (rejecting as-applied vagueness and facial overbreadth challenges to § 1346); United States v. Frego, 933 F.Supp. 1536, 1547 (S.D.Cal.1996)(§ 1346 valid as applied).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Chowdhury
11th Cir. · 1997 · confidence medium
United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 570 (11th Cir.1995).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Vaghela
M.D. Fla. · 1997 · confidence medium
Where, as here, a criminal statute is challenged as applied — as opposed to on its face — this Court “need only examine the vagueness of the statute in light of the particular facts of this case.” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1995), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 1350 , 134 L.Ed.2d 519 (1996). 3 New circuit courts have addressed the vagueness of the Medicare anti-kickback statute.
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Czubinski
1st Cir. · 1997 · signal: cf. · confidence medium
Cf. United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568-69 (11th Cir.1995) (rejecting facial vagueness and overbreadth challenge to section 1346). 12 .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Czubinski
1st Cir. · 1997 · signal: cf. · confidence medium
Cf. United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568-69 (11th ___ _____________ ______ Cir. 1995) (rejecting facial vagueness and overbreadth challenge to section 1346). -16- directly guide our disposition of the instant appeal.12 First, as a general matter, we noted in Sawyer that although the right ______ to honest services "eludes easy definition," honest services convictions of public officials typically involve serious corruption, such as embezzlement of public funds, bribery of public officials, or the failure of public decision-makers to disclose certain conflicts of interest.
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Lopez-Lukis (3×) also: Cited "see, e.g."
11th Cir. · 1997 · confidence medium
The only requirement is that the mailing be related to some "step in the plot.” United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 569 (11th Cir.1995) (quoting Schmuck v. United States, 489 U.S. 705, 711 , 109 S.Ct. 1443, 1448 , 103 L.Ed.2d 734 (1989)), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 1350 , 134 L.Ed.2d 519 (1996). 12 .
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Daniel M. Paradies, the Paradies Shops, Inc., Paradies Midfield Corporation, Ira Jackson (3×) also: Cited "see"
11th Cir. · 1996 · confidence medium
This court has addressed this issue in a recent case, United States v. Waymer, 55 F.3d 564, 568 (11th Cir.1995), cert. denied, - U.S., 116 S.Ct. 1350 , 134 L.Ed.2d 519 (1996).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Robert W. WAYMER, Defendant-Appellant
93-9319.
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Jun 16, 1995.
55 F.3d 564
Henry C. Johnson, Jr., Decatur, GA and Dwight Lowell Thomas, Atlanta, GA, for appellant., Joe D. Whitley, U.S. Atty., William L. McKinnon, Jr., and Amy Levin Weil, Asst. U.S. Attys., Atlanta, GA, for appellee.
Hatchett, Cox, Johnson.
Cited by 87 opinions  |  Published
JOHNSON, Senior Circuit Judge:

In this appeal from the Northern District of Georgia, Robert W. Waymer seeks reversal of his convictions on twenty-two counts of mail fraud and eleven counts of money laundering. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

A. Factual Background

Waymer was an elected member of the Atlanta Board of Education (“the Board”). Buddy Allen was the President and General Manager of Allen Service Company, the parent to several companies, including Peatross Service Company. John Assmar was a real estate broker.

In 1986, Allen agreed to pay Assmar fifteen percent of the gross proceeds of any service contracts Assmar obtained on behalf of Allen’s companies. In 1986, Assmar, acting on behalf of Peatross, began a pilot sanitation and pest control program for two Atlanta public schools. By the 1988-89 school year, Allen’s companies provided pest control[*567] and other services to all 113 Atlanta public schools.

In mid-1988, Assmar died. Shortly thereafter, Allen paid more than $30,000 to Ass-mar’s widow as Assmar’s commission for the remainder of 1988. Although this commission grew out of Assmar’s role in obtaining Allen’s contracts with the school system, by the time of Assmar’s death, he was doing virtually nothing to assist in the performance of the contracts.

After Assmar’s death, but prior to the end of 1988, Waymer approached Allen and told him that he and Assmar had been partners and that he wanted to assume Assmar’s role in Allen’s school system contracts. Allen responded that he had already paid Assmar’s widow the fifteen percent commission for 1988. Waymer approached Allen again at the end of 1988. At that time, Allen agreed to pay Waymer the fifteen percent if Way-mer provided him with an assurance from the school system that Waymer could do business with Allen at the same time that he was a member of the Board.

Waymer told Dr. Woodrow Wilson, the Associate Superintendent of the Atlanta school system, that he was considering doing business with someone who did business with the school system and asked his advice. Because Waymer was in the real estate business, Wilson assumed Waymer was talking about real estate work. He advised Waymer that it was allowable if the other party’s-business with the school system was accomplished through a sealed bid procedure. Wilson further advised Waymer to abstain if matters came before the Board involving that business and to disclose the relationship to the Board and Superintendent. Waymer then wrote Wilson a letter stating that he was engaged in real estate and marketing activities with Allen, that Waymer had done consulting work for Allen since 1986, and that Waymer would make full disclosure of his relationship with Allen. Waymer’s letter did not inform Wilson that Allen would be paying Waymer fifteen percent of Allen’s companies’ proceeds from the contract with the school system and that Waymer would be required to perform almost no services for Allen in order to receive the payments. Neither Waymer nor Wilson took the matter before the entire Board.

From the beginning of 1989 to the end of 1991, Allen paid Waymer by checks made payable to Elloree Real Estate Company. All of the checks were deposited into the Elloree business account. Each time Way-mer deposited a check from Allen’s companies into the Elloree account, he wrote one or more checks on that account to himself and deposited the money in his personal account. In all, Allen paid Waymer more than $200,-000.

B. Procedural History

In April 1993, a superseding indictment charged Waymer with twenty-four counts of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 1341 (West 1984 and Supp.1994) and 1346 (West Supp.1994), and eleven counts of money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. § 1956(a)(l)(B)(i) (West Supp.1994). The mail fraud counts alleged (1) a scheme to defraud the citizens of Atlanta of Waymer’s honest services and (2) a scheme to defraud Allen of money and property. The money laundering counts relied upon the mail fraud counts as the specified unlawful activity constituting the source of the laundered proceeds. Waymer pleaded not guilty.

At the trial, which commenced in July 1993, the court granted a motion for judgment of acquittal on two of the mail fraud counts. The jury returned guilty verdicts on all remaining mail fraud counts based on the scheme to defraud the citizens of Atlanta of Waymer’s honest services. [1] Waymer was also convicted on all money laundering counts. He was sentenced to concurrent terms of thirty-three months’ imprisonment.

Waymer raises the following issues on appeal: (1) whether section 1346 is unconstitutionally vague or overbroad; (2) whether the school system’s mailing of checks to Allen’s companies satisfies the mailing requirement[*568] of section 1341; (3) whether the evidence was sufficient to establish mailing of the twenty-two checks at issue; and (4) whether the fact that Waymer was being paid fifteen percent of the proceeds of Allen’s companies’ contracts with the Board was “material.” [2]

II. DISCUSSION

A. Vagueness and overbreadth challenges to section 18J¡,6

Federal law prohibits the use of the mails in furtherance of a scheme to defraud. 18 U.S.C.A. § 1341. To prove mail fraud, the government must show that the accused (1) intentionally participated in a scheme or artifice to defraud and (2) used the United States mails to carry out that scheme or artifice. United States v. Hooshmand, 931 F.2d 725, 731 (11th Cir.1991). The “honest services amendment” to the mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C.A. § 1346, allows the United States to predicate a mail fraud prosecution on a “scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.” [3] Waymer contends that section 1346 is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. Our review is de novo.

1. Vagueness

Because “honest services” are not defined in the mail fraud statute, Waymer contends that section 1346 is unconstitutionally vague. A statute is not unconstitutionally vague if it “define[s] the criminal offense with sufficient definiteness that ordinary people can understand what conduct is prohibited and in a manner that does not encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.” Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 357, 103 S.Ct. 1855, 1858, 75 L.Ed.2d 903 (1983). Waymer’s void-for-vagueness challenge to section 1346 does not involve the First Amendment; therefore, we review section 1346 only as applied in the instant ease. United States v. Awan, 966 F.2d 1415, 1424 (11th Cir.1992). In other words, we need only examine the vagueness of the statute in light of the particular facts of this case. Id.

The constitutionality of a vague statutory standard is closely related to whether the standard incorporates a requirement of mens rea. Colautti v. Franklin, 439 U.S. 379, 395, 99 S.Ct. 675, 685, 58 L.Ed.2d 596 (1979). “A statutory requirement that an act must be willful or purposeful may not render certain, for all purposes, a statutory definition of the crime which is in some respects uncertain. But it does relieve the statute of the objection that it punishes without warning an offense of which the accused was unaware.” United States v. Conner, 752 F.2d 566, 574 (11th Cir.) (quoting Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 101-02, 65 S.Ct. 1031, 1035-36, 89 L.Ed. 1495 (1945) (Douglas, J., concurring)), cert. denied sub nom., Taylor v. United States, 474 U.S. 821, 106 S.Ct. 72, 88 L.Ed.2d 59 (1985); see also United States v. Margiotta, 688 F.2d 108, 129 (2d Cir.1982) (“[t]he broad language of [section 1341], intended by Congress to be sufficiently flexible to cover the wide range of fraudulent schemes mankind is capable of devising, is not unconstitutionally vague because section 1341 contains the requirement that the defendant must have acted willfully and with- a ’specific intent to defraud.”), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 913, 103 S.Ct. 1891, 77 L.Ed.2d 282 (1983).

Applying that principle to this case, we note that to convict a person of mail fraud, the government must prove specific intent to defraud. 18 U.S.C.A. § 1341 (West Supp.1994). Hooshmand, 931 F.2d at 732. Here, the jury found that Waymer specifical[*569] ly intended to commit a fraud on Atlanta’s citizens. Waymer does not maintain that the jury was improperly instructed as to specific intent. Nor does he argue that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s conclusion that he specifically intended to defraud the citizens of Atlanta of his honest services. Therefore, his vagueness challenge must fail. Accordingly, we hold that the term “honest services” in section 1346, as applied to Way-mer, is not unconstitutionally vague.

2. Overbreadth

Waymer contends that section 1346 could be used to prosecute expression protected by the First Amendment and, thus, is facially overbroad. Application of the overbreadth doctrine is employed as a last resort and is not to be invoked when a limiting construction has been or could be placed on the challenged statute. Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 613, 93 S.Ct. 2908, 2916, 37 L.Ed.2d 830 (1973). In cases like this one, where the statute at issue regulates conduct and not merely speech, the statute will not be struck down unless its overbreadth is “not only real, but also substantial in relation to the statute’s plainly legitimate sweep.” Id. If a conduct-regulating statute reflects legitimate governmental interests and is not substantially overbroad, whatever overbreadth does exist should be cured on a case-by-case basis. Id.

We see no basis for facial invalidation of section 1346 on overbreadth grounds. Section 1346 effectuates the legitimate governmental aim of punishing those who use the mails to carry out fraudulent schemes to deprive others of their intangible rights to honest services. Assuming arguendo that certain marginal applications of section 1346 would impermissibly intrude on First Amendment rights, we hold that such potential problems with section 1346 are insubstantial when judged in relation to the statute’s plainly legitimate sweep. Thus, defects in the honest services amendment to the mail fraud statute can be effectively addressed on a case-by-case basis. Accordingly, section 1346 is not facially overbroad.

B. The Mailing Requirement

The federal mail fraud statute does not purport to reach all frauds; rather, it aims at instances where the use of the mails is “part of the execution of the fraud.” Schmuck v. United States, 489 U.S. 705, 710, 109 S.Ct. 1443, 1447, 103 L.Ed.2d 734 (1989) (quoting Kann v. United States, 323 U.S. 88, 95, 65 S.Ct. 148, 151, 89 L.Ed. 88 (1944)). Thus, “mailing” is a required element of the crime of mail fraud. To satisfy the mailing requirement, however, the use of the mails need not be an essential element of the scheme. Schmuck, 489 U.S. at 710, 109 S.Ct. at 1447. It is sufficient for the mailing to be “incident to an essential part of the scheme” or “a step in the plot.” Id. at 711, 109 S.Ct. at 1448 (quoting Badders v. United States, 240 U.S. 391, 394, 36 S.Ct. 367, 368, 60 L.Ed. 706 (1916)).

1. Payment of a Lawful Debt

In this case, the government met the mailing requirement by showing that the Board’s payments to Allen’s companies were accomplished by use of the mails. Waymer contends that because the school system had a legal obligation to pay Allen, the_ mailing of checks in payment of that legal debt cannot satisfy the mailing requirement.

Waymer’s contention is foreclosed by the Supreme Court’s decision in Schmuck, which expressly rejected the claim that a routine or innocent mailing cannot supply the mailing element of the mail fraud offense. 489 U.S. at 714-15, 109 S.Ct. at 1449-50 (1988). Schmuck involved a scheme whereby the defendant would purchase used cars, roll back their odometers, and sell them to dealers for inflated prices. The dealers, in turn, would sell the cars to consumers for prices which reflected the earlier fraud. In order to complete the resale transactions between the dealers and the consumers, title had to be transferred to the consumers; this was accomplished by mailing a title application form to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

The Supreme Court held that although it was an innocent act in itself, the mailing of the title applications supplied the mailing[*570] element for the defendant’s mail fraud conviction. The Court wrote:

Under these circumstances, we believe that a rational jury could have found that the title-registration mailings were part of the execution of the fraudulent scheme, a scheme which did not reach fruition until the retail dealers resold the cars and effected transfers of title. Schmuck’s scheme would have come to an abrupt halt if the dealers either had lost faith in Schmuck or had not been able to resell the cars obtained from him. These resales and Schmuck’s relationships with the retail dealers naturally depended on the successful passage of title among the various parties. Thus, although the registration-form mailings may not have contributed directly to the duping of either the retail dealers or the customers, they were necessary to the passage of title, which in turn was essential to the perpetuation of Sehmuck’s scheme.

Id. at 712, 109 S.Ct. at 1448.

This ease presents an even stronger factual scenario for finding mailing than did Schmuck. In Schmuck, despite the fact that the mailing took place after the defendant had already received the desired benefit from his fraud, the Supreme Court held that the mailings were in furtherance of his overall fraudulent scheme. Here, by contrast, the cheeks mailed to Allen were the very source of the payments to Waymer. Unless and until Allen got paid, Waymer could not get paid. [4] In short, because the success of Way-mer’s scheme to defraud Atlanta’s citizens directly depended on Allen’s being paid, and because Allen was paid by mail, the mailings in this case satisfy the mailing requirement of section 1341.

2. Sufficiency of the Evidence of Mailing

Waymer next contends that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the twenty-two checks at issue in this case were, in fact, mailed from the school system to Allen. We review challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence de novo. Hooshmand, 931 F.2d at 733. In so doing, we review the evidence, including all reasonable inferences and credibility choices, in the light most favorable to the government and decide whether a reasonable factfinder could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. We need not rule out every hypothesis of innocence; a jury is free to choose among reasonable constructions of the evidence. Id.

The Atlanta school system paid Allen’s companies for his services out of two accounts, the general fund and the cafeteria account. Larry Washington and Mary Bright each supervised one of these accounts. Both testified that the customary practice was for the school system to mail checks to vendors. However, Washington testified that on three or four occasions between 1986 and 1992, checks drawn on the general fund were picked up personally by someone from Allen’s companies. Bright testified that 20% of the time preceding the last year and 50% of the time in the last year, checks from the cafeteria account were picked up rather than mailed. Bright and Washington further testified that their approval was required for checks to be picked up, but that they kept no records of which checks were mailed and which were picked up.

[*571] Mailing can be proved through circumstantial evidence. United States v. Metallo, 908 F.2d 795, 798 (11th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 940, 112 S.Ct. 1483, 117 L.Ed.2d 625 (1992). Proof of a routine practice of using the mail to accomplish a business end is sufficient to support a jury’s determination that mailing occurred in a particular instance. Id. This Court has not previously addressed the issue of whether significant deviations from a claimed routine practice of mailing render the evidence insufficient to support a finding of mailing in a particular instance. However, the Fifth Circuit has written:

Where, for example, the usual business practice includes the frequent use of private couriers ... the inference that the ... mails ... were employed in executing the fraud is cast into serious doubt. Absent other probative evidence to show that a mailing ... occurred ... a jury cannot reasonably overcome the presumption of innocence.

United States v. Moody, 903 F.2d 321, 332 (5th Cir.1990).

In this ease, we need not decide whether the testimony of Bright and Washington, standing alone, would be sufficient to establish that the checks at issue were mailed, because the government presented additional evidence of mailing. Specifically, the government offered proof of more than four days’ delay between the date that each of the twenty-two checks at issue was cut by the school system and the date that the same check was deposited into one of Allen’s companies’ accounts. [5] The record contains evidence which shows that the school system normally would write a cheek on one day and then mail it on the next. Allen testified that his customary practice was to deposit checks soon after they were received because “we are a small company and our funds are needed in other areas.” The Fifth Circuit has held that time delay evidence is probative of the method of transport and that three or four days’ time delay is in accordance with the ordinary degree of postal efficiency. Moody, 903 F.2d at 332-33. We agree with the Fifth Circuit. Such evidence supports an inference of mailing.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the government, the evidence in this ease was sufficient to support the finding of mailing. Taken together, the following evidence supports the jury’s conclusion: (1) evidence of the school system’s sometimes-broken custom of mailing checks to Allen’s companies; (2) testimony regarding the school system’s practice of cutting a check on one day and mailing it on the next; (3) Allen’s testimony that his companies typically deposited checks as soon as they were received; and (4) evidence that there were more than four days’ delay between the date of the school system’s cutting and the date of Allen’s companies’ depositing the twenty-two checks at issue in this case. Accordingly, we hold that the evidence was sufficient for the jury to decide beyond a reasonable doubt that the twenty-two checks at issue in this case were mailed.

C. Materiality of the Undisclosed Information

A defendant’s breach of a fiduciary duty may be a predicate for a violation of the mail fraud statute where the breach entails the violation of a duty to disclose material information. Margiotta, 688 F.2d at 127-28. In other words, “[fjraud, for purposes of a mail fraud conviction, may be proved through the defendant’s non-action or non-disclosure of material facts intended to create a false and fraudulent representation.” United States v. O’Malley, 707 F.2d 1240, 1247 (11th Cir.1983). An affirmative duty to disclose need not be explicitly imposed; it may instead be implicit in the relationship between the parties. Margiotta, 688 F.2d at 128. See also United States v. Silvano, 812 F.2d 754, 759 (1st Cir.1987) (“[T]he affirmative duty to disclose material information arises out of a government official’s fiduciary relationship to his or her employer, whether as a public or as a private employee.”).

[*572] Waymer contends that his general fiduciary duty to the citizens of Atlanta did not require him to disclose that he was receiving fifteen percent of the proceeds from Allen’s companies’ contracts with the Atlanta school system and that he performed virtually no services in exchange for those payments. In other words, he maintains that the information he withheld was not material. Waymer correctly asserts that this is not a case of a fiduciary’s complete failure to disclose. He also rightly points out that when he consulted with Wilson about his plans to have a “business relationship” with Allen, Wilson assumed that the relationship would involve compensation of some sort. On the basis of these facts, Waymer contends that what he failed to disclose were minor details concerning how that compensation was to be calculated. We cannot agree.

For a School Board member to be receiving a direct and substantial cut from a vendor’s contract with the school system in exchange for the performance of virtually no services so obviously smacks of impropriety that it can hardly be characterized as a minor detail of which the Board need not be apprised. The fact that Allen’s companies could afford to pay Waymer — who did nothing to help Allen procure or retain the school board contracts and virtually nothing to help Allen perform on those contracts — fifteen percent of the proceeds of the contracts strongly suggests that there were at least fifteen percent of unnecessary expenses in Allen’s bids for the contracts. Had the Board known this, it likely would have re-bid the contracts at a considerable savings to the citizens of Atlanta. Accordingly, we find no merit in Waymer’s contention that as a fiduciary to the citizens of Atlanta, he had no duty to disclose the fact that he was receiving fifteen percent of what the school board was paying Allen’s companies ostensibly for pest control and other services.

III. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Waymer’s convictions and sentence are AFFIRMED.

1

. The jury was deadlocked on Waymer's guilt regarding the alleged scheme to defraud Allen of money and property.

2

. In addition to those listed above, Waymer raises numerous other issues. After careful review of the record, we conclude that Waymer's contentions regarding those other issues are without merit and do not warrant discussion. Accordingly, we summarily affirm the district court as to all issues not herein discussed.

3

. In 1988, Congress enacted section 1346, overriding the Supreme Court's decision in McNally v. United States, 483 U.S. 350, 107 S.Ct. 2875, 97 L.Ed.2d 292 (1987). McNally had held that the mail fraud statute did not criminalize schemes to defraud citizens of their rights to honest government. Id. at 359, 107 S.Ct. at 2881. Congress’ purpose in enacting section 1346 was to restore the mail fraud statute to its -pre-McNally position by allowing mail fraud convictions to be predicated on deprivations of honest services. United States v. Martinez, 905 F.2d 709, 715 (3rd Cir.1990).

4

. Cf. United States v. Maze, 414 U.S. 395, 402, 94 S.Ct. 645, 649, 38 L.Ed.2d 603 (1974) (no mail fraud despite foreseeable mailing of bills to credit card owner, because defendant's fraudulent scheme was complete when he used the stolen credit card to receive the object of the fraud); Parr v. United States, 363 U.S. 370, 393, 80 S.Ct. 1171, 1184, 4 L.Ed.2d 1277 (1960) (defendant who made unauthorized use of school district’s credit card did not commit mail fraud, despite the fact that the oil company which issued the credit card mailed the invoices to the school district for payment); Kann, 323 U.S. at 94, 65 S.Ct. at 150 (mailing requirement was not met where defendants cashed fraudulently obtained checks at local bank and local bank then mailed checks to drawee banks for collection; "it was immaterial to [the defendants], or to any consummation of the scheme, how the bank which paid or credited the check would collect from the drawee bank”). As this Court has noted, “if a defendant has been able to take possession of the object of the fraud and if the fraud is then at an end, further mailings 'involve[] little more than post-fraud accounting among the potential victims of the various schemes, and the long-term success of the fraud [does] not turn on which of the potential victims [bears] the ultimate loss.’ ” United States v. Smith, 934 F.2d 270, 272 (11th Cir.1991) (quoting Schmuck, 489 U.S. at 714, 109 S.Ct. at 1449).

5

. The original indictment charged forty-six counts of mail fraud, but the superseding indictment charged only twenty-four. The charges that were dropped were for checks for which tire delay was four days or less.