⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit hears Kelly McCandless's appeal from an apartment-construction fraud case in Idaho. He and two partners planned to build a property with bank financing; he could earn an ownership share by completing the construction. Prosecutors said he inflated subcontractor bills and used unauthorized signatures to draw overpayments from the loan, keeping the difference. A jury convicted him of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The question is whether misusing the subcontractors' identities was central to the fraud, or simply incidental to overbilling. A lien can secure a contractor's claim against property for unpaid work; a lien waiver gives up that protection for the work it covers. The second issue is restitution: payment to compensate victims for their losses. McCandless will argue that the ownership interest he gave up should reduce the amount owed. The district judge rejected that credit, finding he never earned the interest because he had not finished the project.

USA v. McCandless (No. 24-4105) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued October 15, 2026.