Gregory Chandler -- Bank Fraud

I do some consulting about alleged forgery and alleged fictitious documents.

An interesting case is United States v. Brown, 597 F. 3d 399 (D. C. Cir. 2010). The Court affirmed a conviction for bank fraud and passing fictitious financial instruments. The Court held it was an abuse of discretion (but harmless error) to admit evidence that the defendant failed to pay a $700 home inspection fee.

The government's suggestion that this bad act evidences the defendant's motive to get money is too far removed from the charged offenses and shows only his bad character in cheating an agent out of the home inspection fee.


GREGORY CHANDLER, Attorney at Law