US v. Bohuchot, No. 08-11090

Bribery Convictions Affirmed

In US v. Bohuchot, No. 08-11090, the court affirmed defendants' convictions and sentences for bribery and money laundering, holding that 1) it was at least debatable whether there was clearly or obviously a constructive amendment of the indictment, but in any event, neither the third nor fourth prongs of plain error review was satisfied in this case; 2) a rational juror could infer from the circumstantial evidence and the evidence regarding the contract at issue that defendant accepted or solicited remuneration as part of an ongoing scheme as alleged in the indictment; and 3) even if the prosecutor's comments were improper, they were not sufficiently prejudicial to "cast serious doubt on the correctness of the jury's verdict."

As the court wrote:  "Ruben B. Bohuchot and Frankie Logyang Wong were convicted of bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments in connection with computer and technology contracts awarded by the Dallas Independent School District and programs that received federal funds. Bohuchot and Wong challenge these convictions and their respective sentences. We affirm the convictions and sentences."

Related Resources

• Read the Fifth Circuit's Decision in US v. Bohuchot, No. 08-11090