United States v. Franklin Brown, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 16667

Franklin Brown, in Chicago, bought millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine from Pedro and Margarito Flores between 2003–2008.
Brown was charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, not a substantive drug offense.
Convicted at trial; district court sentenced Brown to 292 months’ imprisonment plus supervised release.
The Flores brothers ran a selective operation with couriers handling physical transactions; Brown was a major customer but his status as a co-conspirator was contested.
Key evidentiary facts included multiple large-quantity cash-and-drug transactions, prepaid cell phones, a vehicle with a secret compartment, insurance records, and a manila ledger indicating Brown’s financial status with the Floreses.
The Floreses did not testify; jurors relied on courier testimony and documentary evidence to infer Brown’s conspiratorial role.
The district court gave a buyer-seller instruction that mixed two proposed approaches to distinguish conspiracy from buyer-seller relationships, which Brown challenged.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the buyer-seller instruction accurately stated the law	Brown contends instruction misstated law	Brown argues the court misled the jury	Instruction accurately stated law
Whether the evidence sufficed to convict Brown of conspiracy	Brown asserts there was insufficient evidence to show a conspiracy	Government proved credit sales and other circumstantial evidence	Evidence sufficient to sustain conviction

United States v. Jimenez Recio, 537 U.S. 270 (Supreme Court 2003) (conspiracy as a separate evil; need for joint objective)
United States v. Avila, 557 F.3d 809 (7th Cir. 2009) (distinguishing conspiracy from buyer-seller relationships in drug cases)
United States v. Lechuga, 994 F.2d 346 (7th Cir. 1993) (en banc; lead opinion on conspiracy standards)
United States v. Nunez, 673 F.3d 661 (7th Cir. 2012) (discusses credit sales and wholesale relationships in proving conspiracy)
United States v. Townsend, 924 F.2d 1385 (7th Cir. 1991) (describes conspirators’ mutual support and stake in venture)
Direct Sales Co. v. United States, 319 U.S. 703 (1943) (definition of conspiracy as joint criminal objective)
United States v. Vallar, 635 F.3d 271 (7th Cir. 2011) (multifactor approach; repeated credit purchases and large quantities)
United States v. Johnson, 592 F.3d 749 (7th Cir. 2010) (requires multiple indicators for conspiracy when combining credit and quantity)
United States v. Suggs, 374 F.3d 508 (7th Cir. 2004) (concept of shared stake and actively pursued course of sales)
United States v. Colon, 549 F.3d 565 (7th Cir. 2008) (pattern instruction discussion on buyer-seller distinctions)