U.S. v. Borrero

Defendants were entitled to new trial on mail fraud charge stemming from defendants’ submission of paperwork on behalf of individuals who lacked Social Security numbers but were seeking to obtain car titles, where said paperwork contained false prices for said cars and contained lower sales taxes than what state law required. Jury was given instruction on erroneous legal theory that conviction could be established by showing that State of Indiana was deprived of its property, i.e., its car titles. Moreover, although record supported alternative theory that defendants defrauded State of Indiana out of its tax money, new trial was required since record did not rule out possibility that jury convicted defendants on erroneous theory. Also, defendants were entitled to acquittal on charge that they shielded unauthorized aliens by assisting them in obtaining car titles, where record showed that defendants used real names and addresses of said individuals in their paperwork, and where defendants’ provision of services to unauthorized aliens was not covered activity under 8 USC 1324(a)(1)(A).