United States v. Thomas C. Correa , 519 F. App'x 602 ( 2013 )


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  •                 Case: 12-11667      Date Filed: 05/28/2013      Page: 1 of 4
    [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    ________________________
    No. 12-11667
    ________________________
    D.C. Docket No. 9:11-cr-80018-KAM-1
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff - Appellee,
    versus
    THOMAS C. CORREA,
    a.k.a. Thomas Carl Correa,
    Defendant - Appellant.
    ________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Southern District of Florida
    ________________________
    (May 28, 2013)
    Before BARKETT and MARCUS, Circuit Judges, and CONWAY, * District Judge.
    PER CURIAM:
    *
    Honorable Anne C. Conway, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Middle
    District of Florida, sitting by designation.
    Case: 12-11667      Date Filed: 05/28/2013   Page: 2 of 4
    Thomas Correa appeals his conviction following a jury trial of one count of
    conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of 
    18 U.S.C. § 1349
    , and one count
    of making a false statement on a loan application, in violation of 
    18 U.S.C. § 1014
    .
    Correa raises three issues on appeal. He argues that: (1) the district court erred in
    denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal because there was insufficient
    evidence to support his conspiracy conviction; (2) the district court abused its
    discretion in admitting a videotape recording of an undercover meeting because the
    government failed to lay the proper foundation; and (3) the district court erred in
    denying his motion for a new trial based on jury misconduct. We find no
    reversible error on the record.
    Although the majority of Correa’s dealings in the bank fraud scheme were
    with a government informant and a FBI agent, the evidence was sufficient for a
    reasonable jury to find that Correa knew the informant would enlist the help of
    bank loan officers, such as William Hebert, to acquire the fraudulent loan. The
    informant repeatedly assured Correa that he had connections at the bank and
    explicitly told Correa that he had bribed Hebert to process the fraudulent loan
    application. Accordingly, there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction for
    conspiracy and we affirm the district court’s denial of Correa’s motion for a
    judgment of acquittal.
    2
    Case: 12-11667     Date Filed: 05/28/2013    Page: 3 of 4
    We also reject Correa’s argument that the district court abused its discretion
    when it admitted into evidence a videotape recording of an undercover meeting
    because the government failed to properly authenticate the tape. It was not an
    abuse of discretion to conclude that the FBI agent’s testimony regarding the
    informant’s competency to operate the equipment, the identification of the
    individuals shown on the tape, the informant’s inability to tamper with the
    recording, and that the recording appeared to be continuous was sufficient to
    establish the accuracy of the recording.
    Finally, Correa argues that the district court erred when it denied his motion
    for a new trial. Correa first argues that he is entitled to a new trial because the jury
    was given an un-redacted version of videotape during deliberations that the court
    had redacted during trial because it included inadmissible hearsay. Correa was
    aware during trial that the district court ruled a portion of a videotape to be
    inadmissible and had an opportunity to examine the tape before it was sent to the
    jury. Thus, he cannot show that his failure to discover the un-redacted videotape
    before the jury returned its verdict was not due to a lack of due diligence and we
    affirm the district court’s denial of his motion on this ground.
    Correa also argues that he is entitled to a new trial because of newly-
    discovered evidence that the jury engaged in premature deliberations. The alleged
    newly discovered evidence consisted of an affidavit from a friend of Correa,
    3
    Case: 12-11667     Date Filed: 05/28/2013    Page: 4 of 4
    stating that she had been approached by an alternate juror several weeks after the
    trial who claimed that many of the jurors discussed the case before the start of
    deliberations and that one of the jurors attempted to convince the others of
    Correa’s guilt during trial. No affidavit was submitted from the alternate juror. In
    light of the district court’s broad discretion to determine whether evidence of jury
    misconduct warrants an evidentiary hearing and the stringent limitations imposed
    on a court’s ability to question jurors about their deliberations post-verdict, see,
    e.g., United States v. Siegelman, 
    640 F.3d 1159
    , 1186-87 (11th Cir. 2011); United
    States v. Cuthel, 
    903 F.2d 1381
    , 1383 (11th Cir. 1990), under the circumstances
    here, we find no abuse of discretion.
    AFFIRMED.
    4
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 12-11667

Citation Numbers: 519 F. App'x 602

Judges: Barkett, Conway, Marcus, Per Curiam

Filed Date: 5/28/2013

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 8/6/2023