Circuit Reverses Conspiracy Convictions One Week After Oral Argument

In a one-page order dated November 26, 2013, just one week after hearing oral argument, the Court reversed the conspiracy convictions of Steven Goldberg, Peter Grimm, and Dominick Carollo. The three men had been convicted of participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to defraud the Internal Revenue Service in connection with a scheme to bid for and win contracts known as guaranteed investment contracts from municipal bond issuers at artificially determined or suppressed rates.

The order does not state the reasons for the reversals, but indicates that an “opinion will follow in due course.” The main issue on appeal concerned whether the government had proven that any overt acts were committed in furtherance of the charged conspiracy within the applicable statute-of-limitations period.

Stay tuned: We will summarize the Court’s written opinion when it is released.