US v. Ramunno, No. 09-10446

By FindLaw Staff on March 17, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

US v. Ramunno, No. 09-10446, involved a mail and wire fraud prosecution in which the district court denied a victim's petition to the district court to amend its preliminary order of forfeiture, contending that the victim was entitled to a constructive trust in the funds he invested.  The court of appeals affirmed, holding that, if the movant were granted a constructive trust and recovered his entire loss, the other victims would recover less than their pro-rata share of the seized assets.

As the court wrote:  "Anthony Michael Ramunno, Jr. pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. sections 1341 and 1343 respectively. As part of his plea agreement, Ramunno agreed to forfeit his ill-gotten gains to the Government. The district court entered a preliminary order of forfeiture by consent. Thomas Martin, one of Ramunno's victims, petitioned the district court to amend its preliminary order of forfeiture, contending that he was entitled to a constructive trust in the funds he invested with Ramunno. The district court granted the Government's motion to dismiss Martin's petition. Martin appeals. We affirm."

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