United States v. Richard Lee Graham
981 F.3d 1254
| 11th Cir. | 2020Background:
- Richard Graham owed about $3.6 million in unpaid federal taxes after years of partial payments, notices of levy, lien filings, and IRS seizure/sale of property.
- Over a multi-year collection effort the IRS assigned revenue officers and repeatedly contacted Graham; weeks before the charged conduct the IRS sent a notice of levy showing the ~$3.6M liability.
- In mid-2014 Graham (via intermediary Thomas Walker and two others, "Ben" and "James") presented an "international bill of exchange" purporting to pay the IRS; the instruments were fraudulent.
- A jury convicted Graham of passing a fictitious financial instrument (18 U.S.C. § 514(a)(2)) and corruptly endeavoring to obstruct administration of the tax laws (26 U.S.C. § 7212(a)).
- On appeal Graham primarily challenged sufficiency of the § 7212(a) conviction under Marinello's nexus requirement and several district-court evidentiary rulings limiting defense testimony and excluding certain evidence.
- The Eleventh Circuit held the IRS collection activity was a "particular administrative proceeding," rejected Graham's additional arguments (including lack-of-success theory and evidentiary objections), and affirmed the convictions.
Issues:
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether IRS collection actions here satisfy Marinello's "particular administrative proceeding" (nexus) requirement for § 7212(a) | The IRS took targeted collection actions (assigned officers, repeated contacts, notices of lien/levy, seizures, recent notice of levy) creating a sufficient temporal/causal/logical nexus | Graham argued "proceeding" must be quasi‑judicial or investigatory (witnesses, oath, extended investigation); liens/levies are not "proceedings" | Court: IRS's multi‑year, targeted collection effort qualifies as a particular administrative proceeding under Marinello; nexus satisfied |
| Whether the improbability of success (plan could not work) negates the nexus or attempt element | Gov't: no requirement to prove likelihood of success; conviction requires only corrupt attempt | Graham: because his scheme was so implausible it could not have affected liens/levies, there was no nexus/attempt | Court: no plain‑error support for adding a "likelihood of success" element; historic precedent requires only corrupt attempt; affirmed |
| Admissibility of portions of Thomas Walker's testimony (subjective beliefs, post‑offense documents, hearsay about Ben and James) | Gov't: Walker's subjective beliefs and hearsay were irrelevant to Graham's own corrupt intent; some answers would be hearsay | Graham: Walker's beliefs/what Ben and James told him would support a "victim of fraud" defense (showing Graham lacked corrupt intent) | Court: exclusion proper—Walker’s private beliefs were irrelevant absent evidence they were communicated to Graham; hearsay foundation not laid; no reversible error |
| Admission of Graham's prior misdemeanor tax conviction (Rule 404(b)) and exclusion of evidence of subsequent good‑faith conduct | Gov't: prior plea shows Graham knew filing obligation; contradicted documents he later submitted and is admissible for intent/knowledge/absence of mistake | Graham: prior conviction was impermissible character evidence; post‑2014 compliance and other conduct show good faith and negate intent | Court: prior plea admissible under Rule 404(b) to show knowledge/absence of mistake with limiting instruction; evidence of good conduct excluded as improper propensity evidence; no error |
Key Cases Cited
- Marinello v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 1101 (2018) (reads a nexus requirement into § 7212(a) and limits prosecutions to interference with particular administrative proceedings)
- United States v. Aguilar, 515 U.S. 593 (1995) (discusses proximate relation in time, causation, or logic for obstruction statutes)
- United States v. Croteau, 819 F.3d 1293 (11th Cir. 2016) (prior Eleventh Circuit framing of Omnibus Clause elements before Marinello)
- United States v. Crabtree, 878 F.3d 1274 (11th Cir. 2018) (standard for sufficiency review of criminal convictions)
- United States v. Dean, 487 F.3d 840 (11th Cir. 2007) (definition of "corruptly" requiring knowledge and dishonest intent)
- United States v. Clotaire, 963 F.3d 1288 (11th Cir. 2020) (proponent cannot claim on appeal an alternate admissibility purpose not advanced at trial)