United States v. Mitchell

── United States v. Mitchell ── Case No.: 25-4036 Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: March 23, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-4036 Document: 44-1 Date Filed: 03/23/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT March 23, 2026 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. No. 25-4036 (D.C. No. 2:22-CR-00173-JNP-1) RICHARD VILLANUEVA MITCHELL, (D. Utah) Defendant - Appellant. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT * _________________________________ Before PHILLIPS, EID, and FEDERICO, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ Richard Villanueva Mitchell appeals his conviction for making a false bankruptcy declaration in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152(3). He claims the trial court erred in omitting a “materiality” element in the jury instruction, but he invited any error. Accordingly, we exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm. 1 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. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. Mitchell also was convicted of bankruptcy fraud and bribery in a bankruptcy 1 case, but his opening brief does not challenge those convictions, so we do not consider them. See United States v. Ibarra-Diaz, 805 F.3d 908, 933 (10th Cir. 2015).  Appellate Case: 25-4036 Document: 44-1 Date Filed: 03/23/2026 Page: 2 I Between 2012 and 2015, Mitchell financed his appliance business by borrowing some $500,000 from a hard money lender, Brad Taylor. Mitchell used the money to buy hundreds of dishwashers, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and ranges that had a combined value of more than $321,000. He possessed the appliances in 2017 when he filed for bankruptcy, but he reported to the bankruptcy court that he had assets valued at less than $50,000. He also failed to disclose the appliances on his Schedules of Assets and Liabilities and his Statement of Financial Affairs. At the meeting of creditors, Mitchell testified under oath that these documents correctly identified all his assets, and he expressly denied having any other assets. Mitchell tried to persuade Taylor to keep quiet about the appliances, emailing him that “he was going to file [for] bankruptcy[,] get rid of the other creditors that were causing him problems[,] and then . . . sell the appliances . . . and get [Taylor his] money.” R., vol. III at 523. He assured Taylor that “[i]f we can trust one another to the end, you will receive your monies.” Id. at 526 (internal quotation marks omitted). But Taylor demanded the appliances, and when Mitchell refused to hand them over, Taylor wrote: “I will be going to the bankruptcy court tomorrow to declare these as assets you have.” Id. at 514. The next day, Taylor met with the bankruptcy trustee,