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People v. Hernandez12/30/2003
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
A jury convicted appellant of one count of insurance fraud. (Pen. Code, ยง 550, subd. (a).) The trial court sentenced him to three years of probation with certain terms and conditions. Appellant contends the trial court erred in failing to give jury instructions on accomplice testimony and in failing to limit and to clarify the conspiracy instructions. We affirm.
Factual Background
Appellant was admitted to the bar in 1953 and practiced law in San Jose handling mostly criminal and personal injury cases. In 1991 he was approached by Tami Le about working for Century Law Offices. During the time appellant worked there, Phoung Le, and later her daughter Tami Le, managed the day-to-day operations. Appellant came to the office about once a week to review cases. Two or three times a week he handled court appearances, depositions, arbitrations and settlement conferences. He received over $71,000 from Century Law in 1997. Another $20,000 was written to appellant from the management fund and deposited into a trust account.
Sharon Mouras, an investigator for the insurance fraud unit of the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, arranged for an undercover investigation of Century Law. Because most of Century Law's clients and office staff were Vietnamese, Mouras used Phu Pham, a Vietnamese-speaking law student working as an investigator assistant in her office, as the undercover operative. Phu Pham was to play the role of Paul Tran, a person who had been rear-ended in a low-speed, minor-impact car accident, who complained of neck pain. Mouras arranged for two pretext insurance policies, a fictitious police report of the accident, a property damage estimate for Tran's 1987 Toyota Tercel in the amount of $1,940, and photos of the damaged car. Tran was to go to Century Law and say that he was not hurt and that he was referred by a friend who was in an accident and not hurt but made money anyway.
On January 23, 1997, Tran went to Century Law. He was wired to record his conversations. He spoke to Tami Le, who asked him about the accident, if there was a police report, and if he had insurance information about the other driver. Tran said he was not injured, but wanted to see if he could make some money. Le told Tran that if he was not injured there was nothing that the attorney could do. She said that people who do not have injuries sometimes develop pain or discomfort from the accident later. She told Tran that "she cannot say a whole lot," but people "understand her position." Le had Tran fill out several forms. Le asked Tran if he had been to a doctor and gave him a list of chiropractors, suggesting that he find one convenient to where he lived. She told him to go to a specific chiropractor, Tammi Nguyen. Tran testified that during their conversation, he told Le "more than twice that I was not, indeed, injured from the accident." Le told him there was no need for him to talk to the lawyer.
The next day, Tran went to the chiropractor. When he told the receptionist he did not have any symptoms, the receptionist said Dr. Nguyen could not treat him and that she would call Tami Le. A few days later, Tran spoke to Tami Le who said no doctor would treat him if he did not have an injury and that he would not have a case to ask for damages. Tran testified Le told him "I was just too honest and too truthful, and th
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