[PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

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No. 22-12750 ____________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus FRANK BELL, TYSON RHAME, JAMES SHAW, Defendants-Appellants.

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Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia D.C. Docket No. 1:16-cr-00067-SCJ-CMS-4 ____________________ USCA11 Case: 22-12750 Document: 97-1 Date Filed: 08/14/2024 Page: 2 of 41

2 Opinion of the Court 22-12750

Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, and JILL PRYOR and BRASHER, Circuit Judges. WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge: This criminal appeal concerns currency sellers who de- frauded retail investors and made false statements to federal agents. Tyson Rhame, James Shaw, and Frank Bell were owners and offic- ers of Sterling Currency Group, a currency-exchange business that sold over $600 million worth of Iraqi dinar and other currencies. The sellers promoted false rumors of an imminent dinar revalua- tion, concealed that Sterling paid to advertise on dinar-discussion web forums and conference calls, and falsely represented that Ster- ling planned to open physical currency-exchange kiosks across the country. Rhame and Bell also lied to federal agents when inter- viewed about their activities. After a five-week trial, the jury con- victed the sellers of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and false statements. The district court sentenced Rhame, Shaw, and Bell to 180, 95, and 84 months in prison, respec- tively. On appeal, the sellers challenge the sufficiency of the evi- dence, jury instructions, evidentiary admissions, and Rhame’s sen- tence. We affirm the convictions and Rhame’s sentence, except for the refusal to grant a downward departure, the appeal of which we dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. I. BACKGROUND Tyson Rhame and James Shaw founded and owned Sterling Currency Group, a currency-exchange business that sold mainly Iraqi dinar from 2004 until 2015. Sterling began in 2004 as a “garage- USCA11 Case: 22-12750 Document: 97-1 Date Filed: 08/14/2024 Page: 3 of 41

22-12750 Opinion of the Court 3

run” business, which operated out of Rhame’s and Shaw’s homes and sold millions of dollars’ worth of currencies a year. In the early years, Rhame managed most of Sterling’s daily operations, includ- ing compliance, banking, web content, shipping, logistics, and cus- tomer service. Shaw’s wife helped fulfill orders, while Shaw re- mained mostly removed from daily operations. Sterling began expanding in earnest in early 2010, and the company hired Frank Bell. Bell became Sterling’s Chief Operating Officer in 2013. As the “compliance guy,” Bell was responsible for legal compliance and training employees to adhere to laws and reg- ulations. Sterling’s sale of the Iraqi dinar was legal. Much of its market was retail: most mainstream exchanges refuse to sell the dinar be- cause the currency is pegged by the Iraqi government, the ex- change