Background
Bisheem Jones led a straw-purchasing scheme involving over one hundred and thirty firearms across West Virginia and Pennsylvania. He recruited participants, compensated straw purchasers with money or drugs, and resold the firearms for profit. Jones was convicted of conspiracy to travel interstate with the intent to deal in firearms without a license, conspiracy to commit promotional money laundering, and aiding and abetting interstate travel with the intent to deal in firearms without a license. He was acquitted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The court’s reasoning
The court held that the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jones and a co-conspirator agreed to use proceeds from the gun trafficking to promote further gun trafficking. The evidence showed payments to straw purchasers were part of the mechanics of the underlying offense rather than a separate agreement to reinvest profits. Text messages regarding personal expenses and electronic transfers to straw purchasers did not demonstrate an agreement to funnel proceeds back into the scheme. The court distinguished this from cases where payments are made to encourage continued participation in an ongoing enterprise.
The Government’s evidence, at most, proved the existence of a gun-trafficking business and Jones’s role in running that unlawful business with other participants.
Opinion at 6
The dissent
What it means going forward
The defendant’s conviction for conspiracy to commit promotional money laundering is vacated, and the case is remanded for resentencing on the remaining counts. The district court may consider non-retroactive changes to the Sentencing Guidelines regarding obliterated serial numbers upon resentencing.