United States v. Judith Reinsdorf Douglas

OPINION

ELY, Circuit Judge:

Douglas was convicted of having committed fraud by the use of a telephone in interstate commerce, an alleged violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The trial was conducted by the district judge, upon stipulated facts and without jury.

Douglas was a subscriber to the services of the Central Telephone Company of Las Vegas, Nevada and, as such, was provided by the company with a telephone and an assigned number. Her fraudulent scheme involved the use of a mechanical device, commonly called a “blue box” in telephone parlance. The device, when attached to a subscriber’s system,…