United States v. Donald Cone

I concur with the majority’s conclusion that the government’s “material alteration” theory is not supported by the plain language of the criminal trademark counterfeiting statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2820. As a result, I also agree that this Court must reverse Defendant Zhao’s conviction on Count 9, which involved a networking switch that the government concedes was manufactured by or for Cisco, and her three money laundering convictions, which were tainted by the material alteration theory. I further concur that the government adduced insufficient evidence to convict Defendant on Count 10 because…