United States v. Rajwani

-1-
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
February 23, 2007
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
05-10648
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
Versus
NINA K. RAJWANI
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Texas, Fort Worth Division
ON PETITION FOR REHEARING
(Opinion January 16, 2007, 5th Cir. 2007____F.3d )
Before JONES, Chief Judge, and DAVIS and GARZA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
In response to the petition for rehearing submitted by
Appellant Nina K. Rajwani, we modify the first full paragraph on
page 1187 of the slip opinion to read as follows:
The most direct evidence of Rajwani’s knowledge of and
participation in the scheme were the handwritten notes the customs
agents found in her purse recording the names and addresses of two
victims. In addition, the irregular nature of the transactions and

-- 1 of 2 --

-2-
the machinations the defendant followed to recover funds in the
United States are probative of her guilty knowledge. The
unorthodox procedures included:
• The practice of personally crossing the border and withdrawing
the funds rather than having the U.S. bank simply wire the
funds to the defendant’s friend or to the defendant herself in
Canada;
• Opening multiple bank accounts for the different victims’
deposits rather than having a single account;
• Making trips to various banks on nine different days, each
within one or two days of the victim’s deposits to empty the
account and recover the funds;
• Fleeing from the bank on September 22, 2005 after the bank
manager attempted to stall the defendant.
Rajwani was not inexperienced in business affairs. She served as
an independent contractor for a financial services company in
Canada and as a clerical worker for an importing company. The jury
was entitled to conclude that the totality of these circumstances
belied the defense theory that the defendant sincerely believed she
was simply helping her friend collect funds legitimately owed to
him in his travel agency.
IT IS ORDERED that the petition for rehearing is otherwise
DENIED.

-- 2 of 2 --