United States v. Tew

── United States v. Tew ── Case No.: 24-1333 Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 06, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 24-1333 Document: 97-1 Date Filed: 04/06/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit PUBLISH April 6, 2026 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Christopher M. Wolpert FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court _________________________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 24-1333 KIMBERLEY ANN TEW, a/k/a Kimberley Vertanen, Defendant-Appellant. _________________________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 24-1465 * MICHAEL AARON TEW, Defendant-Appellant. _________________________________ Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado (D.C. Nos. 1:20-CR-00305-DDD) _________________________________ *After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument in Appeal No. 24-1465. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). That appeal is therefore submitted without oral argument.  Appellate Case: 24-1333 Document: 97-1 Date Filed: 04/06/2026 Page: 2 Justin A. Lollman of GableGotwals, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Defendant- Appellant Kimberley Ann Tew. Kari S. Schmidt, Wichita, Kansas, for Defendant-Appellant Michael Aaron Tew. Rajiv Mohan, Assistant United States Attorney (Peter McNeilly, United States Attorney, with him on the briefs), Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff- Appellee. _________________________________ Before HOLMES, Chief Judge, McHUGH and FEDERICO, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ FEDERICO, Circuit Judge. _________________________________ Michael Tew made a living providing financial advice to large companies. When one such company was forced into bankruptcy, it hired Michael to help. And he did. Michael’s wife, Kimberley Tew, traded cryptocurrency and liked to gamble. But she wasn’t always profitable in her endeavors. When she ended up financially underwater, her creditors came calling. They didn’t only call Kimberley and Michael; they also called Michael’s employer, which eventually led to Michael’s firing. But before Michael was fired, the Tews had found another way to cash out. Michael and Kimberley – along with an accomplice on the inside – had begun filing falsified invoices for nonexistent vendors. They kept this up for 2  Appellate Case: 24-1333 Document: 97-1 Date Filed: 04/06/2026 Page: 3 years and received payments for false invoices to the tune of $5 million. Eventually, federal law enforcement agents got wise to the scheme. The couple was charged in a 60-count indictment. They went to trial, where they attempted to blame each other. It did not work out for them – both Michael and Kimberley were convicted by the jury. The district court then sentenced Michael to 42 months’ imprisonment and more than $6 million in restitution. Kimberley was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay more than $5 million in restitution. They appeal separately. Because the cases involve overlapping fa