United States v. Filline

── United States v. Filline ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: June 01, 2026 Category: Direct Criminal Case: 25-50049 Document: 82-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/01/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-50049 FILED June 1, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce United States of America, Clerk Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Christopher Filline, Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 5:20-CR-32-1 ______________________________ Before Willett, Wilson, and Douglas, Circuit Judges. Don R. Willett, Circuit Judge: Christopher Filline was Castroville’s police chief. The Government alleged that he betrayed that position of public trust for private gain: arranging for his wife’s damaged Lincoln Navigator to be destroyed, falsely reporting it stolen, and pocketing the insurance proceeds. A jury agreed, convicting Filline of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On appeal, Filline does not dispute that the Navigator was deliberately burned, that he filed an insurance claim, or that the claim traveled in Case: 25-50049 Document: 82-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/01/2026 No. 25-50049 interstate commerce. His appeal presses a narrower point: the Government, he says, failed to prove the agreement that conspiracy requires. True, the evidence was circumstantial. But circumstantial evidence is evidence. And here it came in mutually reinforcing layers: strained finances, repeated requests to “get rid of” the vehicle, recruitment of a known criminal relative, coordinated access to the Navigator, its destruction by fire, a false theft report, an insurance claim, and later concealment. Viewing that evidence as we must—in the light most favorable to the verdict—a rational jury could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Filline and at least one other person agreed to pursue the fraudulent objective. We AFFIRM Filline’s conviction. I In July 2016, Christopher Filline, then the police chief of Castroville, Texas, reported that his wife’s 2007 Lincoln Navigator had been stolen. Two days earlier, the Navigator had been found burned on a remote road in Bexar County. Filline filed a police report with the Lytle Police Department and later submitted an insurance claim to Farmers Insurance Group. The Government’s theory was straightforward: the Navigator was not stolen; it was staged. Filline, facing mounting financial pressure and costly vehicle repairs, recruited others to dispose of the Navigator so he could report it stolen and collect the insurance proceeds. A jury convicted him of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. A The evidence began with motive. In 2016, the Fillines were under serious financial strain. They had substantial medical bills, about $30,000 in credit-card debt, and delinquent mortgage and car payments. Filline did not 2 Case: 25-50049 Document: 82-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 06/01/2026 No. 25-50049 keep those worries private. Multiple Castroville officers testified that he complained openly about money. The Navigator added to the p