United States v. Davis

596 F.3d 852 (D.C. Cir. 2010)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D served as national treasurer of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. The Phi Beta Sigma national treasurer is the elected, unpaid custodian of all fraternity funds. Before any expense is paid, the fraternity's executive director, national president, and treasurer must each sign a 'voucher' documenting and authorizing the payment. The president and the treasurer must co-sign each fraternity check. The executive director is a full-time employee with an office at the fraternity's headquarters; neither the president nor the treasurer has offices. D disregarded these policies during his tenure as national treasurer from 1999 to 2003. Some checks he wrote without obtaining an approved voucher. Many checks contained only Davis's signature. On others, D also signed or stamped the president's name. The fraternity learned that D had written checks to cash, a violation of another fraternity policy. D was suspended as treasurer. D was indicted on ten counts of bank fraud, one count of first-degree theft, and one count of first-degree fraud. The new treasurer, Jimmy Hammock, testified that he asked Dis to produce the financial records D maintained on the fraternity's behalf. D provided some unused checks and financial reports but no canceled checks or bank statements. Hammock also asked D why he had written fraternity checks payable to cash. D explained that he transferred the funds to the fraternity's payroll account. Hammock told D the fraternity had found $29,000 in checks made out to cash, none of which was deposited in the fraternity's bank account as D had claimed. Over an objection based on Rule 408 Hammock testified that D asked, 'Can we just split this $29,000.00 and make this situation just go away?' Hammock testified that he told D, 'If you want to do some -- negotiate some kind of settlement, you need to talk to our legal counsel or our international president.' P admitted it was not introducing the statement to claim that D was obstructing a criminal investigation. D was convicted and appealed.