U.S. v. Courtright

Defendant was found guilty of seven counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to 90 months in prison in connection with an investment scheme where defendant misled investors and used upfront fees to cover a shortfall in revenue. On appeal, defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence and the district court’s manner of calculating the loss caused by his conduct. The Seventh Circuit Affirmed, finding that the district court did not err by finding evidence sufficient to affirm the jury’s verdict under plain error review and that the district court did not clearly err in denying a deduction in losses proposed by the defendant. (EASTERBROOK and PRYOR, concurring)