United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED August 24, 2022 No. 21-10651 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk

United States of America,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

John O. Green,

Defendant—Appellant,

consolidated with _____________

No. 21-10672 _____________

United States of America,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Thomas D. Selgas,

Defendant—Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:18-CR-356 Case: 21-10651 Document: 00516445918 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/24/2022

No. 21-10651 c/w No. 21-10672

Before Higginbotham, Dennis, and Graves, Circuit Judges. James L. Dennis, Circuit Judge: Appellants Thomas Selgas (“Selgas”) and John Green (“Green”) were convicted by a jury of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) by interfering with its lawful functions. See 18 U.S.C. § 371. Selgas was also convicted of evasion of payment of taxes. See 26 U.S.C. § 7201. On appeal, Selgas and Green both challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions and raise challenges to a number of jury instructions. Selgas also argues that his indictment was constructively amended, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, and that the district court should have granted him a continuance. We AFFIRM. I. Selgas and his wife Michelle were partners in a company called MyMail, Ltd. 1 MyMail sued alleged patent infringers, which resulted in $11 million in settlement proceeds in 2005, of which MyMail received $6.8 million after attorney fees. In February 2006, MyMail’s CPA filed tax forms reporting that Michelle Selgas received $1.559 million in ordinary business income and $1.091 million in distributions from MyMail, and Selgas received $117,187 in business income and a $82,000 distribution. In late 2005, the Selgases had MyMail send $1 million by wire transfer to Dillon Gage, a precious metals dealer in Texas with whom Selgas had an account, and, as instructed by Selgas, Dillon Gage used the money to buy 7,090 quarter-ounce $10 Gold Eagle coins for Selgas. While the Gold Eagle coins have a nominal $10 face value, the actual value of the coins is much higher and is based on the price of gold.

1 As we must, we present the facts in the light most favorable to the guilty verdict. See United States v. Oti, 872 F.3d 678, 685 n.1 (5th Cir. 2017).

2 Case: 21-10651 Document: 00516445918 Page: 3 Date Filed: 08/24/2022

No. 21-10651 c/w No. 21-10672

In April 2006, Selgas and Green—his lawyer—orchestrated an effort, along with MyMail partner Bob Derby, to amend MyMail’s tax forms “based on the current laws of a constitutional $.” According to Selgas and Green, “Federal Reserve