UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 06-5072
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
RICHARD HENRY FRANKLIN,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond. James R. Spencer, Chief
District Judge. (3:06-cr-00080)
Submitted: March 12, 2007 Decided: April 5, 2007
Before WILLIAMS, MICHAEL, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Michael S. Nachmanoff, Acting Federal Public Defender, Mary E.
Maguire, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Richmond, Virginia, for
Appellant. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney, Sara E.
Flannery, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Richard Henry Franklin appeals his conviction for one
count of falsification of government records in violation of 18
U.S.C. § 2073 (2000).* For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
Franklin contends that the district court erred in
denying his motions for judgment of acquittal filed pursuant to
Fed. R. Crim. P. 29. This court reviews a district court’s
decision to deny a Rule 29 motion de novo. United States v.
Ryan-Webster, 353 F.3d 353, 359 (4th Cir. 2003). Where, as here,
the motions were based on an allegation of insufficient evidence,
the verdict must be sustained if there is substantial evidence,
taking the view most favorable to the Government, to support it.
See Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942).
“[S]ubstantial evidence is evidence that a reasonable finder of
fact could accept as adequate and sufficient to support a
conclusion of a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
United States v. Burgos, 94 F.3d 849, 862 (4th Cir. 1996) (en
banc). The court reviews both direct and circumstantial evidence
and permits the Government the benefit of all reasonable inferences
from the facts proven to those sought to be established. United
States v. Tresvant, 677 F.2d 1018, 1021 (4th Cir. 1982).
*
Franklin was charged with various offenses in a 25-count
indictment. The government dismissed one count, and the jury
acquitted Franklin on the remaining 23 counts.
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In order to prove that Franklin falsified government
records in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2073, the Government had to
establish that: (1) the defendant was an officer, clerk or employee
of an agency of the United States; (2) he was charged with keeping
accounts or records; (3) he made a false entry or report in such
account or record; and (4) he did so with intent to deceive,
mislead, injure or defraud. Franklin contends that the evidence
was insufficient to support his conviction because it did not
establish that (1) he failed to record transactions with the intent
to deceive or defraud, or (2) he actually embezzled any funds.
The district court did not err in denying Franklin’s
motions. The videotaped and testimonial evidence established that
Franklin failed to properly enter stamp sales into his computer,
rendering his Daily Financial Reports (PS Forms 1412) inaccurate
and creating excess cash in his cash drawer. While the Government
was not required to prove that Franklin took the money, the weight
of the evidence suggested that the excess money from the unrecorded
stamp sales was both not reported and missing. Therefore, viewing
the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, ample
evidence supported the inference that Franklin created false
reports by omitting data and that he did so with the intent to
deceive or defraud. Accordingly, we affirm Franklin’s conviction
and sentence. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
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legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before
the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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