United States v. McKye

MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

I. Introduction

Defendant-Appellant, Brian William McKye, was charged with eight counts of securities fraud, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h). At trial, McKye tendered an instruction that would have permitted the jury to decide whether the investment notes at issue were securities under the federal securities laws. The district court refused to give McKye’s instruction, instead instructing the jury that the “term ‘security’ includes a note.”

The jury convicted McKye on the…