United States v. Payan

Pedro Carrillo Payan and Mark Ancira (defendants) were suspected of stealing farm equipment in Texas and New Mexico and transporting it into Mexico for sale; Ancira was arrested with fraudulent invoices naming Payan as purchaser, and Payan was later arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy and 15 counts of interstate and foreign transportation of stolen goods, with trial evidence showing the two men cooperated throughout. The jury convicted Payan on the conspiracy count and 11 of the substantive counts, and he appealed, arguing Wharton's Rule barred convicting him of both conspiracy and the substantive offense of aiding and abetting Ancira, since both aiding-and-abetting liability and conspiracy inherently require at least two people.