United States v. Litwok, No. 10-1985-cr (2d Cir. April 30, 2012) (Livingson, Lohier, CJJ, Koeltl, DJ)
An Eastern District jury convicted defendant Evelyn Litwok of one count of mail fraud, and three counts of tax evasion – for the years 1995, 1996 and 1997. The circuit found the evidence legally insufficient to support the conviction for the 1996 and 1997 tax evasions, and also found that the mail fraud and the 1995 tax evasion counts were improperly joined. The court remanded for a new trial on those counts.
Background
Litwok seems to have spent a good part of the mid-1990’s involved in financial shenanigans in and around East Hampton. The mail fraud conviction arose from her involvement in a scheme to defraud an insurance company by making false claims for property damage and related losses at her two East Hampton homes. The tax evasion charges arose from private equity …