United States v. Ebolose Eghobor
812 F.3d 352
5th Cir.2015Background
- Ebolose Eghobor, a registered nurse, was director of nursing at PTM Healthcare Services and controlled patient admissions; PTM billed Medicare for home health services.
- Government alleged PTM and coconspirators (owner Ferguson Ikhile and physician Dr. Joseph Megwa) recruited patients, falsified OASIS and Plan of Care/physician order forms to inflate Medicare reimbursements, and provided minimal care.
- Ikhile cooperated and testified for the government at trial; other witnesses included recruited beneficiaries and a Medicare investigator (Trudy Bell).
- A jury convicted Eghobor of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349) and acquitted him on three substantive health-care-fraud counts; Megwa was convicted on all counts against him.
- Eghobor moved post-verdict for acquittal/new trial (including a Rule 33 motion based on a post-trial recorded conversation); motions were denied, he was sentenced to 48 months, and he appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the Allen charge was improper/coercive | Court properly instructed jury to continue; modification acceptable | Eghobor argued deviation and coercion (jury likely deadlocked as to him) | Court affirmed: no abusive deviation and totality of circumstances showed no coercion |
| Whether providing Bell transcript to jury was improper | Court has discretion to supply transcripts; treating requests equally avoids judicial comment | Eghobor argued transcript risked undue emphasis and no cautionary instruction given | Court affirmed: full transcript given mitigated emphasis risk; failure to request cautionary instruction reviewed for plain error and not shown |
| Cumulative-error claim | Errors aggregated to deny fair trial | District court committed errors warranting reversal when combined | Rejected: no reversible errors identified, so cumulative-error doctrine inapplicable |
| Sufficiency of the evidence for conspiracy conviction | Evidence (Ikhile’s testimony, falsified documents signed by Eghobor) supported conviction | Eghobor argued insufficient proof and attacked witness credibility | Affirmed: viewing evidence in government’s favor, a rational juror could find agreement, knowledge, and willful participation beyond reasonable doubt |
| Denial of Rule 33 motion based on recorded conversation (newly discovered evidence) | Recording showed Ikhile contradicted trial testimony and showed bias, warranting new trial | Statements were impeachment only, not substantive exculpatory evidence; would not probably produce acquittal | Affirmed: recording was at best impeachment; Berry factors not met and new evidence would not likely produce acquittal |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Andaverde-Tiñoco, 741 F.3d 509 (5th Cir. 2013) (standard for reviewing Allen-charge objections and coercion analysis)
- United States v. Heath, 970 F.2d 1397 (5th Cir. 1992) (district court has broad discretion on Allen charge coercion)
- United States v. Scruggs, 583 F.2d 238 (5th Cir. 1978) (approved noncoercive variations of Allen charge)
- United States v. Kimmel, 777 F.2d 290 (5th Cir. 1985) (contextual safeguards in Allen charge mitigate coercion)
- United States v. Lindell, 881 F.2d 1313 (5th Cir. 1989) (evaluating totality of circumstances where deadlock notes existed)
- United States v. Garcia, 732 F.2d 1221 (5th Cir. 1984) (timing of Allen charge relevant to coercion inquiry)
- United States v. Escotto, 121 F.3d 81 (2d Cir. 1997) (advisability of cautionary instruction when providing transcripts)
- United States v. Hernandez, 27 F.3d 1403 (9th Cir. 1994) (ordering new trial where transcript of key testimony was supplied and jury indicated reliance)
- United States v. Bertoli, 40 F.3d 1384 (3d Cir. 1994) (cautionary instruction recommended when transcript provided)
- United States v. Grant, 683 F.3d 639 (5th Cir. 2012) (standards for sufficiency-of-evidence review in criminal cases)