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United States v. Seng

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

November 8, 2018, Argued; August 9, 2019, Decided

No. 18-1725-cr

Opinion

 [*116]  Reena Raggi, Circuit Judge:

Defendant Ng Lap Seng paid two United Nations ("U.N.") ambassadors—one of whom was for a time also serving as President of the General Assembly—more than $1 million to secure a U.N. commitment to use Ng's Macau real estate development as the site for an annual U.N. conference. Based on this conduct, Ng now stands convicted after a jury trial of paying and conspiring to pay bribes and gratuities in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 666, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-2, 78dd-3, as well as of related conspiratorial and substantive money laundering, 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A), (h). A judgment, entered on June 7, 2018, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Vernon S. Broderick, Judge), orders Ng to serve concurrent 48-month prison terms on each of six counts of conviction,2 to forfeit $1.5 million, to pay a $1 million fine, and to make restitution to the U.N. in the amount of $302,977.20.

Ng now appeals his conviction, arguing that (1) his conduct cannot have violated § 666 because the U.N. is not an "organization" within the meaning of that statute; (2) the jury instructions as to both § 666 and FCPA bribery were deficient [**3]  in light of McDonnell v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2355, 195 L. Ed. 2d 639 (2016); (3) the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to support a guilty verdict for these crimes; and (4) without valid § 666 and FCPA predicate counts of conviction, his related money laundering convictions cannot stand. For the reasons explained in this opinion, Ng's arguments fail on the merits. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of conviction on all counts.

BACKGROUND

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934 F.3d 110 *; 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23770 **; 2019 WL 3755676

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. NG LAP SENG, AKA DAVID NG, AKA DAVID NG LAP SENG, Defendant-Appellant, JOHN W. ASHE, FRANCIS LORENZO, AKA FRANK LORENZO, JEFF C. YIN, AKA YIN CHUAN, SHIWEI YAN, HEIDI HONG PIAO, AKA HEIDI PARK, Defendants.1

Subsequent History: US Supreme Court certiorari denied by Ng Lap Seng v. United States, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 3403 (U.S., June 29, 2020)

Prior History:  [**1] On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

On appeal from a judgment entered after trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Broderick, J.), defendant Ng Lap Seng, who stands convicted of paying and conspiring to pay bribes and gratuities to United Nations officials in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 666, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78dd-2, 78dd-3, and of related money laundering, 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A), (h), argues that (1) the United Nations is not an "organization" within the meaning of § 666; (2) the jury was not correctly instructed as to controlling law, particularly as pertains to bribery in light of McDonnell v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2355, 195 L. Ed. 2d 639 (2016); and (3) the evidence was insufficient, in any event, to support a guilty verdict.

United States v. Ng Lap Seng, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83441 (S.D.N.Y., May 9, 2018)

Disposition: AFFIRMED.

CORE TERMS

official act, bribery, corruptly, organizations, bribes, convention center, district court, permanent, entity, prohibits, argues, proscribed, quo, reasonable jury, foreign government, quid pro quo, designation, quotation, charging, construe, marks, host, federal funding, public official, harmless, paying, instructions, convictions, pertain, vagueness

Criminal Law & Procedure, Standards of Review, Substantial Evidence, Sufficiency of Evidence, Bribery, Public Officials, Elements, De Novo Review, Conclusions of Law, Governments, Legislation, Interpretation, Criminal Offenses, General Overview, Harmless & Invited Error, Jury Instructions, Courts, Judicial Precedent, Vagueness, Acts & Mental States, Mens Rea, Purpose