Kay Gow v. United States

Dr. Kay Gow worked as an executive for a startup company called VR Laboratories (“VR Labs”) that employed, among others, a Nobel prize winning scientist and the former lieutenant governor of Florida. VR Labs applied for and received $5 million in grant funding from Lee County, Florida (the “County”). Under its grant agreement with the County, VR Labs agreed to employ at least 208 people within five years. If it failed to do so, VR Labs was contractually obligated to repay the grant money. A financial dispute between VR Labs and its general contractor caused the undercapitalized startup to fold. After the collapse of the company, the Government brought wire fraud charges against Dr. Gow based on the County’s loss of grant funds. A central feature of the Government’s theory of the case was the company’s failure to create 208 jobs, which, according to the Government, meant that the county did not get “what it bargained for.” The Government separately charged Dr. Gow with wire fraud stemming from the losses of an investor who claimed at trial he was defrauded based on misrepresentations made by Dr. Gow’s husband. However, the subscription agreement he signed directly refuted his trial testimony regarding the purported deceit, and his civil suit against the Gows proved unsuccessful. The questions presented are:

1. Can the provisions of the federal wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, be interpreted to criminalize a breach of a contract by grant recipient, where the parties contemplated a contractual remedy for the breach, and the alleged misrepresentations were aspirational statements made in a forwardlooking grant application?

2. May an individual be convicted of wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 where the victim, a sophisticated investor, executed a subscription agreement prior to his investment that directly contradicted his claim that the defendant lied to him to procure his investment?