United States v. Cobena Duenas

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for conspiring to exchange counterfeit currency, and dealing in counterfeit currency. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to demonstrate that defendant knew the unlawful object of the conspiracy and intended to deal in counterfeit money. In this case, defendant had ample opportunity to discover that he was dealing in counterfeit money, he shared substantial contacts with a government informant which was enough to facilitate defendant's collaboration with the informant, defendant plainly demonstrated awareness of the transaction's unlawful nature, and defendant was instrumental to the transaction's success. Finally, under the prudent smuggler doctrine, the jury in this case could reasonably infer that the informant would not entrust defendant to close a deal for $632,300 in counterfeit currency without telling defendant not only that he was buying counterfeit currency but also how much he was to receive in exchange for $5,000 in non-counterfeit currency. View "United States v. Cobena Duenas" on Justia Law