United States v. William J. Johnson

JERRE S. WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge.

Johnson appeals a criminal conviction for interstate transportation of a falsely made security, 18 U.S.C. § 2314, and for causing interstate telephone calls to be made pursuant to a scheme of securities fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The primary issue on appeal concerns the district court’s determination that the documents in question were “securities” within the meaning of the statute, as a matter of law. We affirm the district court.

FACTS

In 1977, William J. Johnson helped to launch a California corporation, International Vaults, Ltd. (I.V.), to engage in the…