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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document657_ Filed 04/29/22 Page8of45
met its burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the counts are not
multiplicitous.
The offenses charged and common objectives. Both Counts Three and Five are charged
under the same statute, 18 U.S.C. § 371, for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United
States. But going beyond this “general level” of similarity, the statutory objectives of the two
counts differ. Macchia, 35 F.3d at 669. Count Three is a conspiracy to violate § 2423(a) and
Count Five a conspiracy to violate § 1591. These differing statutory objectives entail legal
differences. Count Three, for example, charges unlawful sexual activity (defined as sexual
touching of a minor) while Count Five charges commercial sexual activity with a minor. And
each provision defines “minor” differently: under seventeen years old for Count Three but under
eighteen years old for Count Five. Further, Count Three requires an agreement with intent to
transport across state lines, while Count Five’s agreement requires only intent of sexual activity
that affects interstate commerce. These differences push the first Korfant factor in the
Government’s favor. See Estrada, 320 F.3d at 182 (distinguishing between a conspiracy to
distribute cocaine and one to distribute crack); United States v. Villa, No. 3:12-CR-40 (JBA),
2014 WL 252013, at *4 (D. Conn. Jan. 22, 2014), aff'd, 744 F. App’x 716 (2d Cir. 2018)
(summary order) (distinguishing between a § 371 conspiracy to “commit theft from an interstate
shipment and to transport stolen property across state lines” and one to “sell stolen property”).
The Government, however, errs in suggesting that this factor alone is “fatal” to the
Defendant’s multiplicity claim. Gov. Br. at 29. To the contrary, no single Korfant factor is
dominant or dispositive. Macchia, 35 F.3d at 668. And courts in this district have found two
conspiracy counts to be the same offense even when they have different statutory objectives
because both counts can arise from the same agreement. F.g., Hernandez, 2009 WL 3169226, at
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00010374.jpg |
| File Size | 726.0 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.5% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,123 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:58:07.441866 |