Theft Conviction Based on Selling Fraudulent Tax Check Upheld

A defendant who fraudulently obtained a U.S. income tax check in Kenya and then sold it to an undercover Internal Revenue Service agent in Dallas failed to convince the Fifth Circuit that the jury was read the wrong unanimity instruction.

Upholding Jeffrey Sila’s conviction for theft of public funds, the opinion Tuesday by Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod said that a unanimity of theory instruction wasn’t required and the general unanimity instruction used by the trial court was sufficient.

The statute under which Sila was convicted prohibits stealing or converting federal funds. Sila argued that the general jury instruction, which said ...