U. S. v. KRUSE, 606 F.3d 404 (7th Cir. 2010)
Following defendant's conviction for conspiracy to defraud the Government in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371 and filing false income tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7206(1) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, he challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction.
The evidence at trial was sufficient to justify defendant's conviction for filing false tax returns. The contradictions in his testimony allowed the district court, as fact-finder, to infer that defendant was altering his story because he knew the returns were false.
Personal draws made by defendant from his business allowed the trier to infer that defendant knew that the business was taking in at least as much money as he took out, and his unreported gambling winnings allowed the fact-finder to infer defendant's lack of respect for the tax laws.
The evidence also allowed the district court to convict defendant of conspiracy. The circumstantial evidence of his complicity in the understatement of his income was sufficient to support his conspiracy conviction and was, moreover, substantial.
The conviction was upheld.
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