Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — D2 51946-1-II Published Opinion.pdf

Citation: Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — D2 51946-1-II Published Opinion.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
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Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/D2%2051946-1-II%20Published%20Opinion.pdf ↗

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applications had legal efficacy and were falsely completed, and (2) the trial court did not err in

refusing to give an instruction defining “instrument” to include a legal efficacy requirement

because the legal efficacy of the bank account applications was a question of law for the trial

court. In the unpublished portion, we address and reject Smith’s other arguments but conclude

that the criminal filing fee must be stricken. Accordingly, we affirm Smith’s convictions, but we

remand for the trial court to strike the criminal filing fee from the judgment and sentence.

FACTS

Business Formation, Bank Account Applications, and Loan Transactions

Smith, James, and Broussard each registered businesses with the Secretary of State. In

April 2016, James registered a business named “Fast Lane Autos.” On the same day, Broussard

registered a business named “Brown Bear Auto.” In June, Smith registered a business named

“A.J. Motors.”

On June 23, Smith opened a Wells Fargo business banking account for A.J. Motors using

a social security number belonging to a child from Indiana. Around the same time, James and

Broussard also opened bank accounts for their businesses.

On June 24, James obtained a $14,840 loan from Inspirus Credit Union to purchase a car

from Smith’s business, A.J. Motors. James applied for the loan using the social security number

of a child in Ohio. On June 28, the credit union issued a check for $14,840 payable to A.J.

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No. 51946-1-II

Motors. On June 29, the check was deposited into A.J. Motors’ bank account. This deposit was

the first and only deposit of funds into the account.

On July 1, Smith returned to the Wells Fargo branch where he had opened the A.J.