In United States v. Duran, No. 09-11446 (Feb. 16, 2010), the Court affirmed the convictions of a Venezuelan citizen for acting as an agent of a foreign organization, without prior notification of the Attorney General, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 951.
The case arose out of the “Suitcase Scandal” involving the seizure of $800,000 in cash from a Venezuelan entering Argentina, cash intended, it was speculated, for the presidential candidate Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Duran, acting on behalf of Venezuela, had meetings in Miami in an effort to conceal responsibility for the $800,000.
The Court rejected Duran’s argument that the government had to prove that he had knowledge of the foreign agent registration requirement. The failure to register offense is a general intent offense, which does not require proof of actual knowledge. The Court also rejected the argument that the statute only punishes conduct that related to espionage, pointing out that the registration requirement applies regardless of the activity at issue, so long as it is on behalf of a foreign government.
The Court rejected the argument that Duran should have been allowed to present evidence of his ignorance of the registration requirement, because knowledge of the requirement is not an element of the offense.
The Court also rejected Duran’s argument that statements showing his lack of intent to act as an agent of Venezuela should have been admitted, finding them not sufficiently probative to constitute reversible error.
The Court rejected Duran’s 404(b) challenge to the admission of evidence of his giving kickbacks to Venezuelan government, finding that the evidence showed Duran’s intent and motive. Further, the evidence was subject to a limiting instruction. In addition, the evidence was admissible to rebut Duran’s entrapment defense.
