## Facts

- Steven B. Tencer owned Allied Chiropractic Clinic in Kenner, Louisiana, supervised finances, and worked with chiropractor Ronald Lazar, who treated patients.
- From about 1988 to early 1992, Allied submitted false claims to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Louisiana, Mail Handlers Benefit Plan, and National Association of Letter Carriers and collected proceeds for patients who were not treated or received minimal services.
- Allied recruited individuals with strong chiropractic insurance benefits, paid some patients’ insurance premiums, and paid “patients” to sign multiple clinic sign-in sheets for themselves and family members.
- Recruited patients were also compensated for referring coworkers, including individuals from government agencies.
- Patient testimony described either no treatment or brief, cursory treatment, while claim forms reported complex diagnoses and extensive treatment regimens.
- The scheme generated hundreds of fraudulent claims and more than $450,000 in insurance proceeds.
- Money-laundering allegations focused on Tencer’s movement of fraud proceeds through multiple bank accounts and cashier’s checks, use of a Louisiana mailing address not tied to his residence or work, and an attempt to obtain large amounts of cash through a Las Vegas account and an airport cash delivery arrangement.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove the “concealment” element of money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) where Tencer used his own name on accounts and handled transactions himself.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the mail-fraud and conspiracy convictions.
3. Whether the district court abused its discretion by denying severance of Tencer’s trial from Lazar’s.
4. Whether challenged jury instructions and evidentiary rulings warranted reversal.
5. Whether sentencing rulings, including guideline applications and loss determinations, were erroneous.

## Decision

- The Fifth Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for resentencing.
- The court upheld the conspiracy and mail-fraud convictions, finding sufficient evidence of a knowing scheme to submit false claims through the mails.
- The court upheld most money-laundering convictions, holding the evidence supported a finding that the transactions were designed to conceal or disguise the nature, source, ownership, or control of the proceeds.
- The court found no abuse of discretion in denying severance, relying on the preference for joint trials of co-conspirators and the absence of compelling prejudice.
- The court rejected most trial-error challenges, concluding the instructions and evidentiary rulings did not amount to reversible error.
- On sentencing, the court required adjustments on specified guideline matters and remanded for resentencing consistent with its opinion.

## Legal Principles

- Evidence is sufficient on appeal if, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, a rational jury could find the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Mail fraud requires proof of a scheme to defraud and use of the mails in furtherance of that scheme; systematic billing for nonexistent or minimal services can support the scheme element.
- Conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371 is supported by proof of an agreement to commit an offense, knowing participation, and an overt act; circumstantial evidence and coordinated conduct may establish participation.
- For concealment money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), the government may prove a transaction was designed, at least in part, to conceal or disguise the proceeds’ nature, location, source, ownership, or control.
- Use of a defendant’s true name on accounts does not preclude a concealment finding when the transaction pattern (multiple accounts, cashier’s checks, non-residential addresses, cross-jurisdiction transfers, and efforts to convert to cash) supports an inference of concealment.
- Severance is disfavored for jointly charged co-conspirators absent a strong showing of specific and compelling prejudice that prevents the jury from making individualized guilt determinations.

## Conclusion

The Fifth Circuit largely sustained convictions arising from a chiropractic insurance-billing scheme and held that concealment money laundering may be inferred from structured, layered financial transactions even when the defendant uses his own name, while ordering resentencing to correct identified guideline errors.


United States v. Tencer, 107 F.3d 1120 (5th Cir. 1997)