United States v. Sandra L. Weaver Richard Buschman

O’SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge.

We must decide whether the “purchase” element of the crime of equity skimming requires proof of the exchange of adequate consideration.

I

Appellants Sandra Weaver and Richard Buschman, together with several co-defendants not involved in this appeal, were indicted, charged with multiple counts of mail fraud and with one count of equity skimming, and subsequently convicted after a bench trial. 1 Weaver was a licensed real estate agent, and Buschman was a licensed broker. The charges against them stemmed from their involvement in a business called “Foreclosure…