Richard Bert Allender was convicted by a jury of eight counts of bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. He was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment on each count, to be served concurrently, followed by five years of supervised release. We affirm.
I. Background
First State Bank of Morgantown, Indiana is a federally insured financial institution. 18 U.S.C. § 1344 makes it illegal to knowingly defraud or use false or fraudulent pretenses to obtain money from such a financial institution. Nevertheless, between September 1989 and July 1991, Allender obtained a series of nine loans from First State Bank using various false statements. Five of these loans were obtained by forging the signature of a longtime family friend and previous Morgan-town resident, Ruth Howell. The first loan, in the amount of $15,000.00, was taken out on September 23, 1989. Allender forged Howell’s name on a promissory note and again on the disbursement check payable solely to Howell. The second loan was disbursed on October 25,1989 in the amount of $26,000.00. Allender again forged Howell’s signature on this loan, but was also a co-signor. Part of the proceeds of this second loan were used to pay off the first loan. The next three loans, dated April 23, 1990 ($25,000.00), October 20, 1990 ($23,000.00) and April 18, 1991 ($19,-000.00), were obtained in a fashion similar to the second loan — also without Howell’s knowledge or consent — and were renewals of the second loan. After the last of these loans went into default, the bank charged off the balance.
On January 15, 1990, Allender used the name of Darren Whiteside to take out a loan of $24,000.00. Whiteside, a social acquaintance of Allender, had no business relationship with First State Bank. As with the Howell loans, this loan purported to bear the signatures of both Whiteside and Allender. Whiteside, however, testified that he had not authorized this loan. In addition, the collateral listed on the loan was not owned by either Whiteside or Allender. In fact, it did not exist. The bank charged off this loan too.
Finally, Allender secured three other loans by pledging collateral (heavy equipment) that did not exist. Two of these loans also purported to bear the signature of Allender’s father, which Allender admitted to signing without his father’s knowledge. Each of these loans went into default and were charged off by the bank.
After an FBI investigation uncovered these and other suspicious loan deals involving Allender and First State Bank, Allender was charged with violating 18 U.S.C. § 1344. *912 The superseding indictment originally contained ten counts, but was reduced to nine after the district court granted, in part, Al-lender’s motion to dismiss certain counts as multiplicitous. Of these nine counts (contained in the amended superseding indictment), Allender was convicted of eight. He was acquitted of count five, involving the Darren Whiteside loan.
II. Analysis
On appeal, Allender asserts five errors: (1) that the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the subsequent Ruth Howell loans as multiplicitous, (2) that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel, (3) that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions, (4) that the district court erred in instructing the jury, and (5) that the district court erred in determining his sentence. We address each contention in order.
First, Allender claims that the amended superseding indictment in this ease contained multiplicitous counts, specifically the five Ruth Howell loans. He alleges that it was error for the district court to deny his motion to dismiss, as multiplicitous, the last four of these loans.
Multiplicity is the charging of a single offense in separate counts of an indictment. Un
ited States v. Gonzalez,
In this case, Allender was charged with violating the bank fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1344, which provides that:
Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice—
(1) to defraud a financial institution; or
(2) to obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits, assets, securities, or other property owned by, or under the custody or control of, a financial institution, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises;
shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.
This and other circuits have consistently held that each “execution” of a scheme, rather than a mere “act in furtherance of such a scheme,” constitutes a separate violation of § 1344.
United States v. Longfellow,
Allender argues that the four subsequent Ruth Howell loans at issue in this case were not separate executions but merely renewals of the first fraudulent loan taken out in her name. He claims that there was no new money taken out (although, we note, the second loan was in an amount significantly in excess of the first loan). Also, because each loan was obtained by forging the signature of the same person, Ruth Howell, Allender contends that each individual loan was merely a step toward executing his scheme—merely one of many efforts—to obtain a single sum of money from the bank.
Determining exactly what constitutes an “execution” of a scheme can be difficult and generally depends
on the
facts
of
each case.
Longfellow,
The question here of course is whether, based on the facts of this case, the four subsequent Ruth Howell loans are chronologically and substantively independent. According to this court’s decision in
Longfellow,
there can be no doubt that they are. In
Longfellow,
this
court
considered whether
*913
the refinancing of a loan constituted a separate execution of a scheme under § 1344.
Longfellow,
Because the same factors are present here, the result in
Longfelloiv
drives the result in this case. The record clearly indicates that each loan put the bank at risk for the funds loaned — at least for another term of days. Allender’s argument that no new tactics were used
(e.g.,
that all of these loans purported to obligate Ruth Howell as borrower) or that he used the subsequent loans to pay off the previous loans, as explained, avails him nothing. There is also nothing in the record indicating that the subsequent loans were planned or contemplated together. And finally, we note that, despite Allender’s insistence that no new funds were put at risk after the first Ruth Howell loan, the record indicates that the second loan in this series was clearly for an amount in excess of the $15,000.00 obtained by Allender in the first loan. This alone could defeat Allender’s claim, at least with respect to the second loan.
United States v. Brandon,
Allender next complains that his trial counsel was ineffective. At oral argument, we questioned Allender’s attorney concerning his decision to raise this claim in this direct appeal. In making his appeal at this time, we explained that he was asking us to review a claim that likely had no factual basis in the trial record.
See United States v. South,
Allender, in order to vacate his conviction on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel, must establish two things: (1) that his attorney’s performance fell below an objective level of reasonableness, and (2) that his attorney’s error was so prejudicial that the result of the proceeding was rendered fundamentally unfair or unreliable.
Mason v. Godinez,
First, Allender alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to subpoena Esther Hamilton and call her as a witness. Allender alleges that Hamilton would have testified that she instructed Allender to forge signatures and declare collateral that he did not own, and that this would have demonstrated that Allender did not “knowingly” commit the offenses for which he is charged. Because Allender’s trial counsel sought to admit this evidence through Allen-der’s own testimony (as inadmissible hearsay), but failed to call Hamilton herself, Al-lender suggests that his counsel’s performance fell below an objective level of reasonableness. But there is a problem. Hamilton herself was under investigation for the same offenses at issue here. She therefore would have had a constitutional right to refuse to testify if called by either party. Despite his trial counsel’s opinion of the value of Hamilton’s testimony, therefore, it was not unreasonable for him to stipulate that she was not available. As this court has said, “[t]he Constitution does not oblige counsel to present each and every witness that is suggested to him. In fact, such tactics would be considered dilatory unless the attorney and the court believe the witness will add competent, admissible and non-cumulative testimony to the trial record.”
United States v. Bolzano,
Allender also claims that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge the sufficiency of the superseding indictment and for failing to object to jury instruction No. 16, which followed the language of the superseding indictment. The superseding indictment in this case tracked the language of § 1344, but failed to distinguish specifically between the two subsections. Allender claims that the indictment therefore did not allege whether he was in violation of subsection (1) or subsection (2).
An indictment is sufficient if it (1) states all the elements of the offense charged, (2) informs the defendant of the nature of the charge, enabling the defendant to prepare a defense, and (3) enables the defendant to plead the judgment as a bar to later prosecution of the same offense.
United States v. F.J. Vollmer & Co., Inc.,
The indictment in this case is clearly constitutional. It set forth the charges against Allender using the language of the statute. The indictment also charged Allen-der under both subsections, specifically connecting the language used in subsection (1) to the language used in subsection (2) with the word “and.” No reasonable reading of this indictment therefore would confuse its recipient as to what law he was charged with *915 violating. Beyond this Allender does not seriously contend that the indictment failed to inform him of the elements of the offense or allow him to prepare a defense. It clearly conforms to the minimal constitutional standards — and by a comfortable margin.
Allender also suggests that it was ineffective assistance when his trial counsel failed to object to jury instruction No. 16 which tracks the language of the indictment discussed above. But this argument presupposes that the indictment was defective. We have determined that it was not. Again, Allender can show no unreasonable performance or prejudice from his counsel’s failure to object to either this indictment or this instruction.
Allender also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions. Specifically, he contends that the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he acted with specific intent to defraud, a necessary element of the crime of bank fraud.
United States v. Howard,
Allender’s argument on this point is dubious. In his words, “[t]he requisite intent to defraud is established only if it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted knowingly and with intent to deceive .... The foregoing can only be established beyond a reasonable doubt by presenting testimony of reliance upon the alleged deception from the ostensible victim of the deception, Esther Hamilton, the bank’s loan officer.”
There are several things wrong with this argument, but it will suffice to say that, while § 1344(2) does require false or fraudulent pretenses, it does not require that anyone be fooled by them.
United States v. LeDonne,
Allender next contends that it was error for the district court to give final jury instructions 19, 21, and 24. 1 Allender’s contentions here are meritless, however, and so we will not spend long with them.
First, Allender challenges instructions 19 and 21, arguing that they instruct the jury to disregard “the inferential crime element of reliance upon the representation of the defendant.” The language in final instruction 19 to which Allender objects provides that “it is not necessary for the government to show that the bank actually relied upon any misrepresentation to have been defrauded.” The language in final instruction 21 to which Allender objects states that “[a] bank officer’s approval of a loan containing false or fraudulent information provided by the defendant is not a defense to the charge of bank fraud ...” But, as noted earlier, § 1344 does not require reliance as an ele *916 ment of the offense. It was therefore not error, let alone plain error, to so instruct the jury.
Nor was it error to give final instruction 24. This instruction, dubbed the “ostrich instruction,” states that the jury “may infer knowledge from a combination of suspicion and indifference to the truth” and further states that “[i]f you find a person had a strong suspicion that things were not what they seemed or that someone had withheld some important facts, yet shut his eyes for fear of what he would learn, you may conclude that he acted knowingly, as I have used the word.” Mender claims that this instruction fails because the record does not contain facts supporting it.
United States v. Perez,
Finally, Mender claims that the district court erred in its sentencing determination. Mender makes two arguments here, but only one is of any substance. We will start with that one first. Mender argues that the court erroneously granted a nine-level increase over his base offense level of six under Sentencing Guidelines § 2F1.1(b)(1)(j) and § 1B1.3. Specifically, he challenges the court’s consideration of certain evidence as relevant conduct when calculating the loss suffered by First State Bank at over $350,000.00. In computing a sentence, “[t]he factual findings of the district court will not be overturned unless they are clearly erroneous.”
United States v. Hatchett,
Mender contends that it was error for the court to include in its calculations (1) the amount of loss charged off by the bank attributable to count 5, the Darren Whiteside loan (of which Mender was acquitted), (2) loans charged off by the bank in which Mender participated but that were not charged in the superseding indictment, and (3) the interest that Mender had agreed to pay on the loans at issue here.
Here it was clearly permissible for the court to include the first two amounts as relevant conduct, so long as there was competent evidence in the record to support the amounts — which was clearly the case here. The government produced evidence at sentencing regarding seven additional loans, in which Mender participated, that used similar fraudulent conduct but were not charged in the amended superseding indictment. Each of these seven loans was obtained during the same time period as the loans charged in the indictment and also involved at least one of the following misrepresentations by Mender: the pledge of nonexistent collateral, the forgery of a signature, or the misrepresentation of authority.
See United States v. Cedano-Rojas,
But whether the amount of interest due under these loans can be included in these calculations is somewhat less clear. Allender points us to Application Note 7 to Guideline § 2F1.1 which states that “loss is the value of the money, property, or services unlawfully taken; it does not, for example, include interest the victim could have earned on such funds had the offense not occurred.” He then argues that the interest mentioned in this Note includes the interest that he contracted to pay on the loans in this ease. But that is not the type of interest referred to in this section of the Guidelines. This Note refers to speculative “opportunity cost” interest — the time value of money stolen from the victims.
United States v. Lowder,
This is also implied in the language of the Note itself. Note 7 states that loss is the value of the thing stolen — money, property, or services. In the context of a loan agreement, the thing itself, or property, includes both the principal and the agreed-upon interest. But for the promise to pay interest, the bank would not have made the loan. The interest Allender challenges here could therefore properly be considered part of the property itself for purposes of Note 7. But even if it is properly deemed “interest” under this Note, the language allows for a distinction to be made between the types of interest based on the level of certainty with which the interest was due. The Note uses the phrase “interest the victim could have earned on such funds.” Inherent in this phrasing is a degree of speculation that is usually associated with mere investment opportunities — the time value of money. But where there is an enforceable agreement to pay a calculable sum, all speculation disappears. If this was the kind of interest contemplated by Note 7, the commentary drafters would likely have used different language, perhaps the phrase “interest the victim would have earned.” They did not, and therefore we think that the only “interest” properly excluded from the loss calculations here is the opportunity cost value of the item stolen.
Having taken this interpretation, however, we note that this court has recently interpreted this Guidelines section and come to the opposite conclusion.
United States v. Clemmons,
Allender also challenges the district court’s calculation of his criminal history level. He argues that the court should have granted his *918 request to depart downward from a criminal history level of IV to a criminal history level of III, arguing that his previous offenses for driving while intoxicated significantly inflated his criminal history beyond an appropriate level. He does not however challenge the factual basis for the district court’s determination, nor does he argue that the court abused its discretion or felt legally compelled not to depart.
Where the district court’s decision is based on the exercise of judicial discretion, a decision by the court not to depart downward from the guidelines is not a basis for review by this court.
United States v. McFarland,
III. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.
Notes
. Allender did not object to jury instruction No. 19 at trial. We therefore review the giving of this instruction for plain error.
United States v. Huels,
. Because this opinion conflicts with the holding in
United States
v. Clemmons,
