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3d 400
Bodian raises two issues on appeal, the first regarding the admissibility of
several statements at trial, and the second regarding his sentence.
1. Admissibility
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The first two challenges are to Jackson's testimony that Diallo told her: (a) that
Bodian, like her, was obtaining card account numbers from his store; and (b)
that Bodian had a friend at his bank who was handling the American Express
United States v. Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d 934, 958-59 (2d Cir.1990), cert.
denied, 511 U.S. 1211 (1991). Both statements would tend to reassure Jackson
concerning the conspiracy: another supplier of cardmember numbers would
make it harder for American Express to track down their source and would
relieve Jackson's concern about having the scheme traced to her place of
employment; Bodian's supposed friend at the bank would relax Jackson
concerning the success of the scheme. These statements thus served to keep her
in the conspiracy. Since Jackson helped make the fraudulent scheme possible,
statements that helped convince her to stay in the conspiracy were "in
furtherance of the conspiracy." Therefore, neither of these statements is
hearsay.
The third statement was part of Jackson's testimony about a conversation she
had with Diallo, in which she renewed her protests concerning the continued
use of her address for the fictitious businesses. Diallo told her (she testified)
that Bodian was to blame for continuing to use her address, and that Bodian was
"greedy." By blaming the "greedy" Bodian, Diallo assured Jackson that he had
not betrayed her and that she could continue to trust him. This statement from
Diallo thus tended "to induce [Jackson's] assistance, [and] serve[d] to foster
trust and cohesiveness" between the two of them. See id. Moreover, this
statement, like the first two, helped convince her to stay in the conspiracy. It is
therefore admissible as a statement made in furtherance of the conspiracy.
The fourth statement was Jackson's testimony that she overheard Diallo and
Bodian talking about depositing one of the American Express reimbursement
checks through a bank ATM machine. Bodian argues on appeal that Jackson
merely overheard Diallo's end of a telephone conversation he was having with
Bodian. The Government successfully refutes this by pointing to a passage in
Jackson's testimony which demonstrates that her recollection of having heard
the conversation "in person" signified that she was present for the face-to-face
conversation between Diallo and Bodian. As a result, Bodian's statement about
making deposits through the ATM machine is admissible under Rule 801(d)(2)
(A), since it constitutes an admission.
2. Sentence
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The district court calculated Bodian's offense level based on the total amount of
phony purchases for which the conspirators sent receipts to American Express,
a total of $257,115.30. Based on this figure, Bodian's offense level was 16,
giving him a sentencing range of 21 to 27 months imprisonment. He was
sentenced to 27 months.
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We affirm Bodian's conviction, vacate his sentence, and remand to the district
court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.