United States v. Ferrarini

Appeal from judgments of conviction for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and for various other substantive offenses, entered following a jury trial. On appeal, defendants-appellants contend that the district courts denial of one defendants motion to sever or to adjourn the trial deprived that defendant of his right to testify, that the district court erroneously provided the jury with an instruction on conscious avoidance, when the evidence showed instead actual knowledge, and that the district court erred in concluding that a premium finance company is a "financial institution" within the meaning of U.S.S.G. § 2F1.1(b)(7)(A).