Defendant-Appellant Robert Vigil was convicted by a jury of attempted extortion in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951. In post-trial proceedings, the district court denied his motions for judgment of acquittal.
United States v. Vigil,
*1261 Background,
Mr. Vigil was the New Mexico State Treasurer from January 2003 to October 2005. George Everage was an employee of the New Mexico State Treasurer’s Office (“STO”) who proposed to Mr. Vigil a method of raising more income for the office through a securities lending program. Mr. Everage left the STO to bid for a contract to oversee this program as the Securities Lending Oversight Manager (“SLOM”). Mr. Everage created a business entity SECSYS, LLC which submitted a proposal to the STO to act as the SLOM forecasting that based on the banks’ proposals as securities lending agents, the income that SECSYS, LLC would receive was $105,450 in gross proceeds. Before Mr. Everage left the STO, Mr. Vigil told him that he had a friend whose wife needed a job and asked him if he would hire her if he received the contract. Mr. Vigil told Mr. Everage that he would have to pay her $500 to $1,000 per month, and that by hiring her he would be helping Mr. Vigil out. Ann Marie Gallegos, Mr. Vigil’s Assistant Treasurer, asked Mr. Everage repeatedly if he had met with Samantha Sais to come to an agreement with her. Mr. Everage did not see the need for an employee, but he agreed to meet with Ms. Sais, the wife of Mr. Vigil’s friend, thinking she might be a courier and do some clerical work.
On April 29, 2005, Mr. Everage met with Ms. Sais who said that she expected $55,000 per year in compensation which surprised him: “I almost fell out of my chair. It went from $500 to $1,000 a month to $16,000 a year to $55,000 a year.” Aplt.App. at 92. Mr. Everage determined during the meeting that Ms. Sais’s “knowledge of securities lending was nonexistent,” and that hiring her would compromise his business plan. Ms. Sais explained that Mr. Vigil owed her husband, Michael Montoya, for past favors, Mr. Vigil had not been forthcoming, and Mr. Montoya was considering running against Mr. Vigil in the next election.
Following the meeting on May 2, 2005, Mr. Everage called Mr. Vigil who explained that he needed Mr. Everage to hire Ms. Sais as a favor and if he did not, “this deal was not going to go forward, it was going to die.” Id. at 98. According to Mr. Everage, Mr. Vigil said that Ms. Sais’s skill set was needed in the STO, prompting Mr. Everage to wonder why the STO didn’t hire her. Mr. Vigil indicated that the main reason he wanted Mr. Everage to hire her was “to get her off his ass.” Id. at 98-99. Previously, Tomasita Gallegos, an STO employee, determined that since most of the information would flow automatically and electronically into the STO’s accounting system, it would not take her much time to perform the necessary computer work needed by a SLOM.
Initially, Mr. Everage submitted his proposal to the STO without Ms. Sais. He testified that he did so in part because “it would have put me in a position where I had to subordinate my interests to hers.” Id. at 100. Ms. Gallegos called Mr. Ever-age on behalf of the STO and told him that he would have to resolve things with Ms. Sais and submit her resume with his proposal. Although Mr. Everage believed he would violate the request for proposals (“RFP”) by including Ms. Sais as a subcontractor, he submitted her name as a potential subcontractor because he believed he would not get anywhere unless he made an accommodation to Ms. Sais.
By the end of May 2005, the STO sent Mr. Everage the SLOM contract, requesting he sign it, and after he signed and returned the contract, the STO sent him three proposals from securities lending agents for his evaluation. Mr. Everage reviewed the responses and prepared a report evaluating them. On June 10, 2005, *1262 Mr. Everage met with Ms. Sais a second time, because of pressure from the STO, and proposed that she receive 40% of his net income. Ms. Sais responded that she wanted 40% of his gross income because Mr. Vigil owed her husband. During the meeting, it became clear to Mr. Everage that Ms. Sais did not want to work for the compensation. Three days later, Mr. Vigil spoke with Mr. Everage by telephone telling him that he offered Ms. Sais 40% of net. Mr. Vigil responded, “No, no just deal with this [Mr. Everage], we can’t, we can’t deal with net, it can’t work.” Id. at 151. Mr. Vigil said that Ms. Gallegos was “writing letters I guess to cancel this thing, that’s why I called you ... we’re not gonna do this if we don’t have uh ... a way of doing it.” Id. at 154-55. Then Mr. Vigil told Mr. Everage to call Ms. Gallegos to “fix it, otherwise, ... you’re gonna put me through two more weeks of this crap.” Id. at 156. Mr. Vigil told him that 10% of something was better than 10% of nothing, suggesting that is what he would get if he did not hire Sais.
Following this conversation, Mr. Ever-age sent a letter to the STO explaining his position. The STO responded that there was no binding contract because Ms. Sais was critical to the contract and that if Mr. Everage did not respond in two weeks with a satisfactory arrangement with Ms. Sais, it would reissue the RFP hoping for more satisfactory responses. In another letter, the STO terminated any contract with Mr. Everage. The STO subsequently offered the SLOM contract to an individual who admittedly knew nothing about securities lending but who agreed to hire Ms. Sais as a condition of receiving the SLOM contract.
On appeal, Mr. Vigil raises six issues: (1) whether his conduct was “wrongful” and not merely hard bargaining or political patronage; (2) whether he “obtained property” from Mr. Everage; (3) whether he used actual or threatened force, violence, or fear; (4) whether the government met the quid pro quo requirement showing that he obtained property “under color of official right;” (5) whether his conduct affected interstate commerce; and (6) whether he took a substantial step toward the commission of extortion.
Discussion
We review the sufficiency of the evidence to support a jury’s verdict and the denial of Mr. Vigil’s motion for judgment of acquittal de novo.
United States v. Burkley,
The Hobbs Act makes unlawful conduct that “in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by robbery or extortion or attempts or conspires so to do.” 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a). The Act defines extortion as “the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.” Id. § 1951(b)(2).
A. Wrongful Conduct
First, Mr. Vigil argues that his conduct was not wrongful as defined by the Hobbs Act but merely hard bargaining or political patronage. The Supreme Court defined the meaning of “wrongful” as used in the Hobbs Act: “ ‘[WJrongful’ has meaning in the Act only if it limits the statute’s coverage to those instances where the obtaining of the property would itself be ‘wrongful’ because the alleged extortionist has no lawful claim to that proper
*1263
ty.”
United States v. Enmons,
Mr. Vigil demanded that Mr. Everage hire a specific individual, Ms. Sais, to fill the role despite Mr. Everage’s conclusion that Ms. Sais’s skills were not needed. Mr. Vigil insisted that Mr. Everage pay her the salary she demanded, 40% of his gross income from the contract, leading Mr. Everage to believe it was a condition to receiving the contract. A rational jury could certainly conclude that Mr. Vigil’s conduct was “not mere hard bargaining but the exploitation of the fear of economic loss in order to obtain property to which the exploiter is not entitled.”
Brokerage Concepts, Inc. v. U.S. Healthcare, Inc.,
Mr. Vigil also argues that Mr. Everage was not entitled to any commissions because many steps needed completing before any commissions would be generated such as selecting securities lending agents on agreeable terms and regulatory approval. This argument ignores the fact that Mr. Vigil was charged with attempted extortion, so the government must only prove a substantial step towards commission of the crime and not the completed offense. In addition, the evidence shows that Mr. Vigil expected Mr. Everage to earn income from’the contract and that Mr. Everage would pay Ms. Sais a portion of that income — so even though the contract was not fully executed, all the parties involved acted on the assumption that the contract would generate income.
Finally, Mr. Vigil argues that even if he had political motivations to provide income to Ms. Sais under the contract, political considerations do not make his actions extortionate. Mr. Vigil relies on
United States v. Thompson,
where a state procurement official was acquitted of mail fraud and bribery when she violated administrative rules in steering a travel contract to a low bidder (and campaign contributor to the governor) even though other members of the working group rated a rival company more favorably.
B. Obtaining Money or Property
Mr. Vigil contends that Mr. Ever-age did not have any money to be obtained and that the government’s intangible property theory varies from the indictment. According to Mr. Vigil, Mr. Everage did not have any money or property to obtain because no enforceable contract existed. Mr. Vigil contends that Mr. Everage’s business plan was nothing more than speculative potential.
Property under the Hobbs Act may be tangible or intangible property,
see Gotti,
Second, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed that Hobbs Act cases relying on an intangible rights theory such as
United States v. Tropiano,
Second, Mr. Vigil argues that the government’s intangible rights theory varied from the indictment and constitutes a constructive amendment to the indictment. After reviewing Mr. Vigil’s post-trial pleadings before the district court, it does not appear that Mr. Vigil raised a constructive amendment argument below. Therefore, our review is for plain error.
See United States v. Gonzalez Edeza,
We recognize two types of variances: “[a] constructive amendment, which is reversible per se, occurs when the district court’s instructions and the proof offered at trial broaden the indictment,” and “[a] simple variance arises when the evidence adduced at trial establishes facts different from those alleged in the indictment, and triggers harmless error analysis.”
United States v. Sells,
C. Threat of Economic Harm
Under the Hobbs Act, extortion may be proved by showing “actual or threatened force, violence, or fear,
or
under color of official right.” 18 U.S.C. § 1951(b)(2) (emphasis added). Mr. Vigil argues that economic fear is only wrongful under the Hobbs Act if the plaintiff had a pre-existing statutory right to be free from the defendant’s demand.
See Brokerage Concepts,
Mr. Vigil’s attempt to distinguish
United States v. Collins,
D. Official Color of Right
To prove extortion “under col- or of official right,” 18 U.S.C. § 1951(b)(2), “the Government need only show that a public official has obtained a payment to which he was not entitled, knowing that the payment was made in return for official acts,”
Evans v. United States,
E. Interstate Commerce
Mr. Vigil argues that his actions did not affect interstate commerce as required for a conviction under the Hobbs Act.
See
18 U.S.C. § 1951(a). The words of the Hobbs Act suggest that Congress intends to use all of its authority under the commerce clause.
Scheidler,
Mr. Vigil relies on
United States v. Mattson,
Mr. Vigil also analogizes
United States v. Schaefer,
Moreover, the government presented evidence that the business assets of SEC-SYS, LLC would have been depleted by 40% of gross revenue had Mr. Everage acceded to Mr. Vigil’s demands.
See Ngu
*1267
yen,
F. Substantial Step
To prove an attempt crime, the government must prove an (1) intent to commit the substantive offense; and the (2) “commission of an act which constitutes a substantial step towards commission of the substantive offense.”
United States v. Smith,
Mr. Vigil argues that the only possible action that could have constituted a substantial step was for Mr. Vigil to order a securities lending deal and then have the deal fall through due to circumstances beyond his control. Mr. Vigil argues that 13 events had to occur before extortion was committed, for example, various state departments would need to approve the contract, the attorney general would need to review the contract and Mr. Vigil would need to have signed it, the securities lending agents would need to bid, be selected, and enter into contracts with the state, and Mr. Everage would need to receive his commission and split it with Ms. Sais. 2
We do not require that a defendant be “on the verge of committing the specific act,” rather, the law “allows criminal liability to attach at some point prior to the last proximate act.”
United States v. Prichard,
Mr. Vigil relies heavily on
United States v. Joyce,
Also contrary to Mr. Vigil’s contention, Mr. Vigil’s acts did “carry the project for
*1268
ward within dangerous proximity to the criminal end,”
People v. Bracey,
Mr. Vigil presents no evidence that any other aspect of Mr. Everage’s bid, qualifications, or anything else was preventing the deal from being finalized. At best, Mr. Vigil’s argument may simply be that his actions occurred in a context too far removed from the completion of the crime to be considered an attempt. However, this argument depends on the view of the evidence, and on sufficiency review, we are required to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government.
See United States v. Jameson,
Finally, Mr. Vigil’s actions constituted a substantial step toward the commission of extortion: for example, the May 2, 2005 phone call where Mr. Vigil told Mr. Ever-age that he would not get the contract unless he reached an agreement with Ms. Sais; and the June 13, 2005 phone call where Mr. Vigil told Mr. Everage that he could not pay Ms. Sais based on net and that the STO was in the process of cancel-ling the contract if Mr. Everage could not work out an agreement with Ms. Sais. These actions were not mere preparation but were threats that constituted “an appreciable fragment of [the] crime.”
Smith,
AFFIRMED.
Notes
. Mr. Everage testified that the securities lending transactions would flow from the custodial bank into the STO’s accounting system, exceptions were rare and that Ms. Sais’s skills were not needed.
. Many of the events Mr. Vigil lists already had occurred, for example, Mr. Everage signed the contract and made his recommendations for the securities lending agents.
