United States v. Wolf
United States v. Wolf
Opinion of the Court
On July 14, 2012, a grand jury returned a two-count Superseding Indictment charging Leonard with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, in violation of
On July 26, 2016, the Court sentenced Leonard principally to 135 months on each of the two counts, to run concurrently, and ordered forfeiture in the amount of $ 942,679 on the conspiracy count and $10 million on the substantive wire fraud count. (ECF No. 155.)
*432On April 10, 2018, the Second Circuit affirmed Leonard's conviction.
II. Forfeiture Orders
As part of Leonard's sentence, he was ordered to forfeit equity in two real properties he owns together with Ann: 755 Bridle Trail Road, Linville, Avery County, North Carolina 28646 (the "North Carolina Property") and 421 North Walden Place, Tucson, Arizona 85750 (the "Arizona Property").
As relevant here, the Court issued two orders related to the Arizona and North Carolina Properties (collectively, the "Properties"), the first on July 26, 2016 (the "2016 Preliminary Order") and the second on September 11, 2018 (the "2018 Preliminary Substitute Assets Order"). (See ECF Nos. 153, 229.) Both orders are described below.
A. The 2016 Preliminary Order
On the day Leonard was sentenced, the Court entered the 2016 Preliminary Order, requiring Leonard to forfeit $ 755,357.93 of the value of the North Carolina Property (the "North Carolina Property Proceeds") and $ 81,929.62 of the value of the Arizona Property (the "Arizona Property Proceeds," and, together with the North Carolina Property Proceeds, the "Property Proceeds"). (Schedule A, 2016 Prelim. Or., ECF No. 153.)
These figures represent the amount of crime proceeds used toward the maintenance and renovation of the Properties. The factual basis for the forfeiture of the Property Proceeds was a sworn declaration provided by Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Kurgansky (the "Kurgansky Declaration"). (See ECF No. 135.)
Kurgansky averred that Leonard renovated and maintained the North Carolina Property with money that came from the Schumacher Properties Account, which in turn was funded by proceeds from Leonard's crimes. (Kurgansky Decl. ¶ 16.) Included among the expenses paid out of the crime proceed-funded bank account was $ 705,360.27 paid to a construction company to expand the North Carolina Property and $ 49,997.66 paid in property taxes on the North Carolina Property, for a total of $ 755,357.93. (Id. ¶ 17.)
The Kurgansky Declaration also averred that expenses for the Arizona Property were paid using criminal proceeds that had been transferred to the Schumacher Properties Account and to other accounts controlled by Leonard. (Id. ¶ 19.) Included among the expenses paid using crime proceeds were $ 64,102.40 in homeowner's association fees for the Arizona Property and $ 17,827.22 in property taxes for the Arizona Property, for a total of $ 81,929.62.
*433B. The 2018 Preliminary Substitute Assets Order
The Government was unable to locate assets covered by the 2016 Preliminary Order sufficient to satisfy the $ 942,679 and $ 10 million money judgments against Leonard.
Accordingly, on February 16, 2018, the Government requested that Leonard be ordered to forfeit certain substitute assets not traceable to his criminal activity. (ECF No. 210.) The Government's proposed order required Leonard to forfeit his "fifty (50) percent interest in the value of [the North Carolina Property], after deduction of the North Carolina Property Proceeds and [his] fifty (50) percent interest in the value of [the Arizona Property], after deduction of the Arizona Property Proceeds" (collectively, the "Substitute Assets"). Because the Properties were owned jointly with Ann, the Government sought only the interests it believed to be Leonard's. Once forfeited, the Substitute Assets would be applied to the outstanding money judgments against Leonard.
On September 11, 2018, the Court entered the 2018 Preliminary Substitute Assets Order over Leonard's objections. (ECF No. 229.) The Order was subsequently stayed at Leonard's request so that he could assert additional objections.
On November 8, 2018, the Court overruled Leonard's additional objections. (ECF No. 234.)
On November 16, 2018, Leonard filed a notice of appeal from the Order. (ECF No. 237.) That appeal remains pending.
III. Ann's Petition
On September 9, 2016-after the 2016 Preliminary Order issued, but before the 2018 Substitute Assets Order issued-Ann petitioned the Court for a hearing pursuant to
The Court scheduled a hearing and ordered briefing on the Petition, but adjourned the hearing and extended the briefing deadlines several times throughout 2016 and 2017 because Ann and the Government were engaged in ongoing settlement discussions. (See ECF Nos. 173, 188, 190, 192-97.)
The parties did not reach a resolution. On December 13, 2017, the Government moved to dismiss Ann's Petition for failure to state a claim, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (ECF No. 201.)
On September 11, 2018, the 2018 Preliminary Substitute Assets Order issued. Ann did not move to supplement her Petition to reflect the 2018 Preliminary Substitute Assets Order, but nonetheless submitted briefing to the Court regarding her interests in both the Property Proceeds and the Substitute Assets on December 7, 2018. (See Mem. Law Opp'n Gov't's Mots. Dismiss Pet. ("Ann's Mem."), ECF No. 242.)
On January 3, 2019, the Government filed additional briefing addressing Ann's claim to the Substitute Assets. (Reply Mem. Law Supp. Gov't's Mot. ("Gov't's Sub. Assets Mem."), ECF No. 245.)
On January 18, 2019, Ann filed a Reply, at which time the matter became fully briefed. (Reply Mem. Law Further Opp'n to Gov't's Mots. ("Ann's Reply"), ECF No. 249.)
Ann thus asserts two claims. First, Ann alleges an interest in the Property Proceeds that Leonard was ordered to forfeit by the 2016 Preliminary Order. Second, she alleges interests in the Substitute Assets that Leonard was ordered to forfeit by the 2018 Preliminary Substitute Assets Order. In resolving the Government's motion to dismiss Ann's Petition, the Court considers all the parties' submissions, namely: (1) Ann's Petition; (2) the Government's Property Proceeds Memorandum; (3) Ann's Memorandum; (4) the Government's Substitute Assets Memorandum; and (5) Ann's Reply.
LEGAL STANDARDS
I. General Forfeiture Principles
Under
"Property" is defined to encompass "real property, including things growing on, affixed to, and found in land,"
Two categories of property are subject to forfeiture under § 853. The first, sometimes referred to as "tainted property," is described in § 853(a), Honeycutt v. United States , --- U.S. ----,
The second category, "substitute property," is "any other property of the defendant."
II. Ancillary Proceeding
Section 853 and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2 create a two-stage procedural framework for completing a forfeiture. "At stage one ..., before entering a preliminary order of forfeiture, the court ... adjudicate[s] the government's interest vis-à-vis the defendant 'without regard to any third party's interest in the property.' " United States v. Daugerdas ,
During stage two, "any person, other than the defendant, asserting a legal interest in property which has been ordered forfeited to the United States pursuant to this section may ... petition the court for a hearing to adjudicate the validity of his alleged interest in the property." 21 U.S.C § 853(n). The Petition initiates an ancillary proceeding that "closely resembles a civil action," and the court may, on motion, dismiss the petition for lack of standing, for failure to state a claim, or for any other lawful reason. Pacheco ,
A motion to dismiss the third-party petition "is evaluated on the same standard as a civil complaint on a motion under Rule 12(b)(6)." Daugerdas ,
*436Daugerdas ,
DISCUSSION
Ann argues that she qualifies for relief under
and such right, title, or interest renders the order of forfeiture invalid in whole or in part because the right, title, or interest [1] was vested in the petitioner rather than the defendant or [2] was superior to any right, title, or interest of the defendant at the time of the commission of the acts which gave rise to the forfeiture of the property under this section.
The forfeiture statute does not define what constitutes a "legal ... interest." Rather, "[t]he extent of the petitioner's interest in the [property to be forfeited] is determined in accordance with state law." Watts ,
The Court considers, first, whether Ann has alleged a plausible claim under § 853(n) with respect to the Property Proceeds, and then whether she has alleged a plausible claim under § 853(n) with respect to the Substitute Assets.
I. The Property Proceeds
Ann cannot claim any legal right, title, or interest in the Property Proceeds. This is "[b]ecause, by definition, the 'proceeds of an offense do not exist before the offense is committed,' " and because any such proceeds "belong to the government from the moment that they come into existence." Id. at 166-67 (quoting United States v. Timley ,
The Court found that $ 755,357.93 of the value of the North Carolina Property and $ 81,929.62 of the value of the Arizona Property was traceable to Leonard's criminal *437conduct. Ownership of the expended criminal proceeds, and of the corresponding equity in the Properties, vested in the Government at the time of Leonard's criminal conduct. See 21 U.S.C § 853(c). Ann thus cannot claim that any "legal right, title, or interest" in this equity was vested in her "at the time of the commission of the acts which gave rise to [this] forfeiture."
Ann cannot relitigate the above findings. See Peterson ,
II. The Substitute Assets
A. Ann's and Leonard's Interests in the Properties
Unlike her interest in the Property Proceeds, Ann's interest-if any-in the Substitute Assets vested prior to Leonard's criminal conduct, because she alleges that she and Leonard acquired the North Carolina Property in 1989 and acquired the Arizona Property in 1998. Whether Ann's Petition survives the Government's motion to dismiss thus turns on whether Ann has plausibly alleged that she has a legal interest in the Substitute Assets that is "superior to" Leonard's or that is vested in her "rather than" Leonard.
According to Ann's Petition, Ann and Leonard hold the North Carolina Property as tenants by the entirety under North Carolina law; and hold the Arizona Property as community property with a right of survivorship under Arizona law. Ann and the Government agree that under the pertinent state laws, Ann and Leonard enjoy the following rights in each Property: (1) a right against the unilateral alienation of the Property by the other spouse; (2) a right to possession of the entire Property for the duration of his or her lifetime; and (3) a survivorship right, meaning that if one spouse predeceases the other, the surviving spouse takes title to the entire Property in fee simple. (See Ann's Mem. 5; Gov't's Sub. Assets Mem. 3.)
The parties also agree that, for the purposes of § 853, these rights are vested in each spouse individually. (See Gov't's Sub. Assets Mem. 5-6 (arguing that the Government seeks only Leonard's interests in the Properties, not Ann's); Ann's Reply 1 (arguing that Ann's interests "are separate and distinct from [Leonard's]").) That is, Ann and Leonard each enjoy their own set of rights in the Properties, distinct from the set of rights enjoyed by the other spouse. It follows that Leonard's interest may lawfully be forfeited to the Government because it is "property of [Leonard]" under § 853(p) ; and that Ann has an interest in the Properties that is vested in her "rather than" Leonard under § 853(n).
B. Whether Ann's Petition States a Plausible Claim Under § 853(n)
The Government argues that Ann's Petition fails to state a claim under § 853(n) because the Substitute Assets *438represent solely Leonard's interest in the Properties, exclusive of Ann's. (See Gov't's Sub. Assets Mem. 6-7.) According to the Government, the 2018 Preliminary Substitute Assets Order already accounts for Ann's interest in the Properties, and therefore no further recognition of Ann's rights is required under § 853(n).
Ann disagrees. She contends that her rights in the Properties may not lawfully be liquidated and therefore even a partial forfeiture of the Properties is impermissible. (See Ann's Reply 7-9.)
The Court need not rule on Ann's liquidation argument in order to decide the Government's motion because, even assuming liquidation of Ann's interest in the Properties is permissible, Ann's Petition nevertheless states a plausible claim for relief under § 853(n).
The Government's argument for dismissal depends on the assumption that Ann's and Leonard's rights in the Properties are of equal value. If Ann's rights in the Properties are worth more than fifty percent of the Properties' value, then some interest in the Substitute Assets is vested in her "rather than" Leonard.
Although the set of rights held by Ann correspond to the rights held by Leonard, it does not follow automatically that the value of Ann's rights is equivalent to the value of Leonard's rights. Indeed, the question of how to value individual interests in marital property that include rights of lifetime possession and survivorship-as Ann's and Leonard's interests do-is an unsettled one in federal courts. Particularly relevant here, several courts have rejected, or at least questioned, the assumption that a fifty-fifty allocation of the property's overall worth accurately captures the value of each spouse's interest. Compare, e.g. , United States v. Rodgers ,
The Government's two remaining arguments in support of dismissal fail to alter the Court's conclusion that further proceedings are required. Each is addressed below.
1. Preemption
The Government first argues that state law is preempted by the federal forfeiture statute. (See Gov't's Sub. Assets Mem. 3.) This assertion confuses the issue. Although state law will not protect the rights Ann has in the property from forfeiture that is properly authorized under federal law, Ann does not claim that the Properties are immune from forfeiture because of a protection provided by any state law. Rather, she claims that there is no basis under federal law to require her to forfeit her rights to non-alienation, lifetime possession, and survivorship-because those rights are not "property of [Leonard]" under § 853(p) and because she meets the requirements of § 853(n) with respect to those rights. That the Government fails to apprehend Ann's claim is clear from the decisions it relies on for its preemption argument, which all address claims by defendants -not third parties-that the forfeiture of their property was prohibited by state law. See United States v. Fleet ,
2. Innocent Owner Defense
The Government next argues that Ann's Petition must be dismissed because, in contrast to the federal civil forfeiture statutes, "the criminal forfeiture statutes do not provide for an innocent owner exception to forfeiture." (Gov't's Sub. Assets Mem. 4.) The absence of an innocent owner exception to criminal forfeiture under
C. Conclusion
Because Ann's Petition raises a plausible claim to relief under § 853(n)(6)(A) that must be resolved by further proceedings, the Government's motion to dismiss Ann's Petition is DENIED with respect to the Substitute Assets. The denial is without prejudice to the Government arguing, in a future dispositive motion, that an award of fifty percent of the Properties' value, after deduction of the Property Proceeds, would appropriately compensate Ann for any loss of rights caused by the forfeiture of Leonard's interest in the Properties.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Government's motion to dismiss Ann's Petition is *441GRANTED as to the Property Proceeds but DENIED as to the Substitute Assets.
Because the Government reserved its right to challenge Ann's characterization of her rights in the Properties, the Court has not made any findings with respect to whether the allegations in Ann's Petition are true. Accordingly, at present, the question of how, if at all, to amend the 2018 Preliminary Substitute Assets Order to account for Ann's rights in the Properties is not before the Court. The Court thus reserves decision regarding amendment of that Order until the Government has been heard on whether it disputes any of the allegations in Ann's Petition.
By March 29, 2019, Ann and the Government are ordered to submit a joint letter to the Court, not to exceed five (5) pages, advising the Court on whether any material fact remains in dispute regarding Ann's Petition as to the Substitute Assets. If there is no material fact in dispute, the letter should advise the Court whether and when this matter should proceed to summary judgment.
SO ORDERED.
The Court subsequently amended Leonard's sentence to adjust its restitution calculations. The forfeiture aspects of Leonard's sentence remained unchanged in the first amended judgment, which was entered on October 3, 2016. (ECF No. 176.) The Court again amended Leonard's sentence on February 8, 2017 (the "February 2017 Amended Judgment"). The February 2017 Amended Judgment made Leonard's forfeiture on the conspiracy count (in the amount of $ 942,679) joint and several with Mr. Schumacher. (ECF No. 191.) (Schumacher was sentenced by the Court on September 28, 2016. (See ECF No. 54, United States v. Schumacher , 13-CR-686 (KMW).) The Court was subsequently made aware that it lacked jurisdiction to enter that revision via an amended judgment and, on November 9, 2018, corrected its error by deleting the reference to joint and several liability that appeared in the February 2017 Amended Judgment. (ECF No. 235.)
The 2016 Preliminary Order also ordered Leonard to forfeit various items of personal property paid for With proceeds derived from Leonard's crimes.
Ann's Petition did not allege an interest in the personal property Leonard was ordered to forfeit. Having received no third-party petition regarding that personal property, on November 22, 2017, the Court entered the Final Order of Forfeiture as to Certain Specific Property. (ECF No. 200.) Due to Ann's pending Petition, that order did not address forfeiture related to the Properties.
Attached to Ann's Petition are copies of the deeds to the Properties. Because the Court does not rely on the deeds in reaching the conclusions in this decision, it need not and does not convert the Government's motion to dismiss to one of summary judgment.
Ann should have sought leave from the Court to supplement her Petition with her claim to the Substitute Assets, because that claim did not arise until after her Petition was filed. Cf. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 ("[T]he court may .. permit a party to serve a supplemental pleading setting out any transaction ... that happened after the date of the pleading to be supplemented."). Ann's failure to do so is excused, however. First, Ann's Petition set forth the factual basis for her claim to the Substitute Assets, namely, her co-ownership of the Properties. Second, based on the parties' briefing, which addresses Ann's claims to the Property Proceeds and the Substitute Assets, the parties appear to agree that both claims are before the Court. Third, the parties do not raise any argument with respect to the deficiency of the other's pleading or motion. The Court thus construes Ann's Petition as alleging claims to both the Property Proceeds and the Substitute Assets. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(e) (requiring the Court to construe pleadings "so as to do justice").
The Government styles this memorandum as a "Reply in Support of a Preliminary Order of Forfeiture as to Specific Property and a Preliminary Order of Forfeiture as to Specific Assets." However, it is more accurately framed as a brief in support of its motion to dismiss Ann's Petition. As explained above, the Court already entered preliminary orders of forfeiture as to Leonard with respect to the Property Proceeds and the Substitute Assets. The present proceeding is an ancillary proceeding that follows the entry of preliminary order of forfeiture and concludes with the entry of a final order of forfeiture after any third-party interests in the property forfeited by the defendant have been adjudicated. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(c).
Because Ann argues only that she qualifies for relief under subsection (A) of § 853(n)(6), and does not address subsection (B), the Court limits its discussion to subsection (A). (See Ann's Mem. 8.)
The Government has reserved its right to dispute this characterization of Ann's interest in the Properties, should its motion be denied, (See Gov't's Sub, Assets Mem, 3.)
The Court is aware of two decisions holding that an innocent spouse's interest in real property held as a tenancy by the entirety cannot satisfy Section 853(n)(6)(A) because the innocent spouse's interest is equal, not "superior," to that of the defendant spouse. See Caspersen ,
In Totaro , the Eighth Circuit was interpreting
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Leonard WOLF, [Petitioner: Ann Wolf]
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published