Full opinion text
REAVLEY, Circuit Judge: Appellants David Faulkner, James Toler, Spencer Blain, Jr., and Arthur Formann appeal their convictions on various counts arising out of the collapse of several savings and loan institutions, the funds of which were exhausted in the development of condominium projects along what is commonly known as the 1-30 corridor in the Dallas area. We reverse a few of the wire fraud convictions but otherwise affirm the district court. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND A Factual Background All of the appellants, directly or by adoption of each other’s arguments, challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support their convictions. “In deciding the sufficiency of the evidence, we determine whether, viewing the evidence and the inferences that may be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the verdict, a rational jury could have found the essential elements of the offenses beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Pruneda-Gonzalez, 953 F.2d 190, 193 (5th Cir.), cert. denied — U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 2952, 119 L.Ed.2d 575 (1992). Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the government, appellants engaged in a scheme during 1982 and 1983 to enrich themselves and others by well over $100 million through the device of fraudulent real estate loans from savings and loan institutions. The scheme involved and indeed required the efforts of numerous participants who served separate roles. Real estate developers would purchase land for condominium development. The properties would then undergo one or more “land flips” at inflated prices. “Syndi-cators” would locate investors to purchase subdivided tracts at the end of the land flip transactions. The initial and intermediate purchasers would receive huge sums of money in the form of profits from land sales, “commissions” or other fees. Appraisers would submit false appraisals to support the prices and loans for the properties. Lenders who controlled savings and loan institutions would provide loans for the sales and resales of the properties. In the scheme Faulkner and Toler served as real estate developers, Blain as one of the inside loan officers, and Formann as one of the appraisers. In the late 1970’s Faulkner, a real estate developer, purchased a tract of land off Interstate 30 near Dallas. He built condominiums in several phases on the property, which he called Faulkner Point. In the early 1980’s Faulkner, Toler, Blain, Formann and others became involved in the purchase and sale of numerous other properties in this area, known as the 1-30 corridor. Faulkner and Toler, another real estate developer, became partners on deals in the 1-30 corridor. They would buy large pieces of land outright or on option, which were ultimately sold to “investors,” “builder-investors” or “builder-developers” at inflated prices in a series of land flips in which the property changed hands several times, often on the same day. Faulkner and Toler would subdivide the tracts they purchased and sell them at a large profit. The properties were sometimes sold to intermediate buyers, who would in turn sell the properties to the investors at even higher prices. Toler and Faulkner would sometimes locate buyers for their properties and arrange financing for the buyers with lenders. Clifton Sinclair, who was indicted in another proceeding and pleaded guilty to certain counts related to the 1-30 debacle, was a key witness for the government. He served a number of roles. He served as a “syndicator” of sorts, by locating investors and offering a package deal to them. He would find a group of investors, prepare loan packages for them which he would submit to lenders, and otherwise offer them an essentially passive investment, by offering to arrange or oversee the financing, construction and marketing of condominiums to be built on the various properties. He or one of his companies was sometimes an intermediate seller in the land flips. Other intermediate purchasers included appraiser Paul Tannehill, Blain, and the principal condominium builder in the area, Wailen York. Sinclair earned millions of dollars from commissions he received at closings and profits as an intermediate seller of properties. Sinclair testified that Faulkner and Toler arranged for financing of the sale of the properties they owned, and had control over the price that they would receive and the commissions and other payments that would be distributed at closing. Commissions regularly went to Brenda Kennedy, a close friend of Faulkner, despite a lack of any apparent effort on her part. Faulkner similarly directed commissions to Kenneth Cansler. Faulkner and Toler would dictate the price they were to receive, and appraisals, loan amounts, and closing costs such as commissions were adjusted or “worked in reverse” to support this price. Sinclair did business through a number of companies he controlled, including Kitco Management Company (Kitco). Ernie Hughes played a syndicator role in the scheme similar to that of Sinclair’s. He would locate investors for properties owned by Faulkner or Toler earlier in the chain of title. He too pleaded guilty to certain offenses in an earlier proceeding and testified for the government. The money for all of these promotions and investments was always forthcoming from appellant Blain or some other lender designated by Faulkner. Sinclair'testified that he tried to do deals without Faulkner and Toler, but was unable to obtain financing. Blain and other savings and loan officers financed both the land and construction loans required for these land flips. Blain became chairman and chief executive officer of Empire Savings and Loan (Empire) in early 1982. He individually approved all of Empire’s loans for these transactions. He purchased a majority of Empire’s stock with the help of a loan from Faulkner and Toler. Blain had a 25 percent profits interest in Statewide Service Corporation, a subsidiary of Empire. On several occasions Statewide was an intermediate seller in a land flip. Blain paid off his loan to Faulkner and Toler with the proceeds of a loan that was also used to purchase property from Toler known as Chalet Ridge. Toler assisted Blain in obtaining the loan to purchase Chalet Ridge. Blain purchased Chalet Ridge in August and September of 1982 for $686,000. In February of 1983, Blain sold Chalet Ridge to Sinclair for $14.9 million. Blain also received a house in Colorado as additional consideration for Chalet Ridge. Blain had made no improvements on the Chalet Ridge property and had attempted unsuccessfully to rezone the property. According to Sinclair, Toler and Faulkner were involved in deciding how much to pay Blain for the property. The government contends that Chalet Ridge was Blain’s big payday for providing some of the loans that fueled the land flips. The money to pay Blain came in part from an Empire loan to Sinclair to purchase another property from Faulkner and Toler known as Kirby Mills. Sinclair testified that the “whole purpose of Kirby Mills” was “a vehicle to generate funds for Mr. Blain.” On another land transaction Blain received from Sinclair, at Faulkner’s direction, a $1.4 million “consulting fee” for no apparent effort. Blain received other questionable payments as well. Empire funded over $100 million in 1-30 corridor land and construction loans. Paul Jensen gained control or influence over two other savings and loans, Lancaster Federal Savings and Loan Association (Lancaster) and Bell Federal Savings and Loan Association (Bell). He personally received millions of dollars in commissions and other payments for arranging loans on the 1-30 properties. Sinclair purchased a $4 million mansion for Jensen. Lancaster and Bell funded over $100 million in 1-30 corridor loans. The lending institutions were able to provide funding for the 1-30 loans with the help of “brokered deposits.” By offering a competitive rate on certificates of deposit, brokers would wire large deposits to the institutions from depositors nationwide. From the depositors’ point of view, the deposits were safe regardless of the health of the institution, since they were insured by the government. The loans which fueled the land flips did not require investors to put any money down, but instead financed 100% of the purchase price, future interest payments for some period, a “development reserve” to the lender, and “up-front” money or “kickbacks” for the investors at closing. On many occasions Sinclair and Hughes would assist the investors in preparing fraudulent financial statements, tax returns and employment verifications that were submitted to the lenders. The promise of up-front money, usually in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, was a key incentive to the investors. On the various loans Empire made it performed no analysis of the appraisals, financial statements, or other documents which lenders typically review. Appraisals and other underwriting materials either were not provided or were simply filed away without any serious review or study. Formann and others provided inflated appraisals to support the larger and larger loans and the escalating land prices. Appraisals are needed to justify the price of the property to the lender, regulators and buyer. Appraisals were also used to inflate the buyers’ financial statements, which would sometimes list as an asset the difference between the price paid or to be paid for a piece of property and the appraised value of the property. Larry Hutson, another appraiser of the 1-30 properties who sometimes served as a “review appraiser” for Formann, testified that he would receive a value per square foot for the properties from Faulkner, Toler, Empire, Kitco or Hughes and would fabricate an appraisal to reach these values. One method used to fabricate the appraisals was to use inflated properties on other 1-30 deals as comparable sales. Faulkner, Toler and others were able to perpetuate the scheme for approximately two years by fostering the impression that there was great demand for condominiums in the 1-30 corridor, and that every project built was successful. When some of the builder-developers became concerned about the viability of the projects or the huge loans they were facing, Faulkner and others made arrangements to buy them out at a profit. Faulkner and Toler also hosted regular breakfasts at a local restaurant to promote the scheme. As many as 200 people would attend these meetings, which were described as pep rallies. Faulkner and his sales staff gave the impression that condominium sales were brisk. Many of the condominiums were not sold to purchasers in arms-length transactions. For example, Faulkner purchased numerous units himself. Other units went to Jensen, Faulkner’s son, the fiancee of Faulkner’s son, Wailen York, York’s son, Brenda Kennedy, Ernie Hughes, Faulkner’s title company closer Jane Nix and others who were not arms-length purchasers. In reality, demand from arms-length purchasers for the condominiums was low and far from justifying the land prices, loans and construction seen in the area. Blain and other savings and loan officers, including Paul Jensen and Tommy Nelson, made the whole scheme possible by agreeing to make the necessary loans. They financed new, larger loans on projects that had not sold and loans so seriously overvalued that no project could succeed. They charged high points and development reserves on loans that then made their institutions appear healthy. They participated in land transactions designed to earn them personal profits. Loans in default or otherwise unlikely to be repaid were renewed. Land acquisition loans were simply “taken out” by even larger construction loans. Borrowers never came out of pocket to make interest payments. Interest payments, if made at all, came from loans provided by the lending institutions. Federal regulators eventually shut down the savings and loan institutions, which suffered loan losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Most of the properties went into foreclosure. Faulkner, Toler, Blain, Sinclair and Jensen made tens of millions of dollars from the scheme. In 1984 Empire was shut down by the FSLIC. Ultimately, five savings and loans with loans connected to the I-30 corridor failed and depositors were made whole by courtesy of the American taxpayer. According to the government, Empire alone had over $300 million in bad loans. The scheme was simple in concept, though complex in its execution. It bore certain similarities to a classic Ponzi scheme. The two initial participants at the top of the pyramid — Faulkner and Toler — would buy land and earn large profits by selling to intermediate purchasers. The intermediate purchasers — Sinclair, Blain, Statewide and other individuals and companies — likewise profited by selling to large numbers of “investors.” The investors, too, profited in the short run, by walking out of closings with up-front money, although they signed large notes or guaranties they could not repay. The lenders supplied the money for all these loans. Ultimately the taxpayers were unceremoniously lodged at the bottom of this pyramid, and had to pay huge sums to insured depositors when the lending institutions failed. B. Procedural History The original 88-count indictment was brought in 1987 against the four appellants as well as Paul Jensen, Kenneth Cansler and Paul Tannehill. Count 1 of the indictment is a broad conspiracy count against all seven defendants under 18 U.S.C. § 371. Count 88 is a RICO conspiracy count against Faulkner, Toler, Blain, Jensen and Cansler, brought under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d). The remaining counts are substantive offense and aiding and abetting counts brought against one or more defendants under various criminal statutes. The indictment was brought in the Dallas division of the Northern District of Texas. The case was tried to a jury in the Lubbock division of this district, and a mistrial was declared due to a hung jury. The case was transferred back to the Dallas division after the mistrial. The case was called to trial in June of 1991 in Judge Buchmeyer’s court, but after several days of voir dire, the court dismissed the panel due to concern about the effect of pretrial publicity. Later that month, the court granted all of the pending motions to transfer venue, which had been filed by Faulkner, Toler, Blain and Formann. The case was transferred to Judge Bunton in the El Paso division of the Western District of Texas. After this transfer, Judge Bunton announced sua sponte that he was transferring the case to the Midland division of the Western District. The case proceeded to trial in September of 1991, and all four defendants were convicted on some counts. Faulkner, Toler and Blain received twenty-year sentences, and Formann received a ten-year sentence. The court also imposed fines against Faulkner and Toler, and pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1963(a)(1), entered RICO forfeiture judgments against Faulkner, Toler and Blain, for $40 million, $38 million, and $22 million respectively. DISCUSSION OF POINTS OF ERROR A. Denial of Blain’s Request to Withdraw Motion to Transfer Venue On June 26, 1991, Judge Buchmeyer in Dallas held a pretrial conference to consider pending motions. At the time, the four appellants all had pending motions to transfer venue on grounds of pretrial publicity. Based on its efforts to select a jury earlier in the month, the court initially indicated that Faulkner would be unable to receive a fair trial in Dallas. During a brief recess that followed, Blain instructed his counsel to withdraw his motion to transfer venue. When the recess ended and court reconvened, the court announced that it was granting all the venue motions, and transferring the case to El Paso. Blain’s counsel immediately informed the court that he wished to withdraw Blain’s venue motion. This request was denied, as was a later written motion to reconsider the denial of the request to withdraw the venue motion. Blain complains that the district court erred in denying his request to withdraw the venue motion. In its order denying the motion to reconsider, the court noted that it could not transfer those defendants (Tannehill and Cansler) who had not moved for a change of venue. The order then explains that granting the motion would have (1) further fragmented the government’s case against the defendants, (2) permitted Blain to avoid trial for another long period of time, and (3) perhaps led to even further delays since “Blain would certainly file a motion to have the charges against him severed from those against defendant Jensen.” The order further states that the request to withdraw the venue motion that had been on file for months “is nothing but ‘posturing,’ designed to obtain further delay and some perceived strategical advantages in avoiding a prompt trial in the Western District of Texas.” Finally, the district court noted the defendants had not made any claim that publicity concerning the case would prevent a fair trial in El Paso. Whether to vacate an order transferring venue is left to the district court’s sound discretion. United States v. Marcello, 423 F.2d 993, 1005 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 398 U.S. 959, 90 S.Ct. 2172, 26 L.Ed.2d 543 (1970). We find no abuse of discretion. The district court correctly noted that venue could not be transferred as to those defendants who had not requested a transfer, since those defendants had a Sixth Amendment right to be tried in the Northern District of Texas. United States v. Stratton, 649 F.2d 1066, 1076 (5th Cir.1981). The district court was well aware that the case was over three years old at the time and that the first trial in Lubbock had lasted for months, and it was properly concerned about further delays in the proceedings and further unnecessary fragmenting of the government’s case. At the June 1991 hearing counsel for Blain had indicated that he did not want Blain tried with Jensen, and that he preferred a transfer of venue to a trial in Dallas with Jensen. The court further had reason to question whether the request to withdraw the venue motion was motivated out of a genuine concern for the fairness of the venue, or was instead a mere strategic ploy. At the hearing counsel gave, as his reason for his request to withdraw the motion, his belief that staying in Dallas would facilitate a plea bargain. The court was entitled to ignore such tactical reasons for withdrawing the venue motion. B. The Intradistrict Transfer to Midland Faulkner and Toler complain of Judge Bunton’s intradistrict transfer of the case from El Paso to Midland. The court ordered the transfer sua sponte at a pretrial conference where no court reporter was present. While his lawyer was not present at the hearing, Faulkner contends that he was present and objected pro se to the transfer. Under Fed.R.Crim.P. 18, the district court “shall fix the place of trial within the district with due regard to the convenience of the defendant and the witnesses and the prompt administration of justice.” We have held that in considering an intradistrict transfer, “the trial court must balance the statutory factors of the convenience of the defendant and witnesses and the prompt administration of justice.” United States v. Dickie, 775 F.2d 607, 610 (5th Cir.1985). Faulkner and Toler complain that the trial court failed to perform this balancing test. Faulkner emphasizes that venue is more than a mere procedural matter, and involves issues of constitutional dimension. He argues that Judge Bu-chmeyer specifically transferred the case to El Paso and rejected the suggested venue of Midland because it was “within the zone of prejudicial publicity.” The “1-30 scandal” was unquestionably the subject of enormous publicity in Dallas. We first determine the extent to which Faulkner and Toler preserved error on this point. While Faulkner asserts that he personally objected to the intradistriet transfer, there is nothing in the record preserving an objection to the transfer by either Faulkner or Toler. The government does not agree that such an objection was made, and contends that this issue is raised for the first time on appeal and was not properly preserved for review. Indeed, the only indication in the record of the defendants’ view of the transfer we can find is a newspaper article attached to a filing by Toler requesting close questioning of jurors regarding pretrial publicity. The article states that Faulkner’s attorney “expressed satisfaction Monday over the trial’s relocation” to Midland, and quotes him as stating that “[w]e have the potential for a fair trial in Midland that we would have been denied in Dallas.” Faulkner and Toler were represented by extremely able counsel with virtually unlimited opportunities to file motions or otherwise preserve their objections to action taken by the trial judge. Under these circumstances we hold that they did not preserve error on this point. Asserted errors as to which a proper objection has not been raised in the district court can only be reviewed for plain error under Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b). United States v. Iwegbu, 6 F.3d 272, 274-75 (5th Cir.1993). As we recently held in Iwegbu, (1) plain error should be corrected if failing to do so would “seriously affect the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings,” (2) a claim of plain error is reviewed against the entire record, and (3) the defendant bears the burden of establishing that the error “had an unfair prejudicial impact on the jury’s deliberations.” Id. We conclude that the error, if any, in transferring the case from El Paso to Midland does not rise to the level of plain error. While we agree that venue generally is a constitutional concern, and that “errors of constitutional magnitude will be noticed more freely under the plain error rule than less serious errors,” we find it equally clear that the place assigned for trial within a judicial district is not a matter of constitutional dimension. We further do not agree that Judge Buchmeyer found Midland to be an inappropriate venue because it was within the “zone of prejudicial publicity.” The record does not reflect such a finding. At the June 26, 1991 pretrial hearing he indicated that he had checked with Judge Bunton and another judge, and had agreed with Judge Bunton “that El Paso would be the best place for the case to be tried.” This conclusion was based on a number of considerations, including courtroom availability, travel time and pretrial publicity. Read in the context of the entirety of its comments, the court did not make a specific finding that Midland would be an inappropriate venue because it was too close to Dallas and “within the zone of prejudicial publicity.” Later in the hearing counsel for the government suggested that the trial be moved to Midland. The court responded that “I’ve already made my ruling on El Paso. If you want to make a motion for Judge Bunton then you can do so and let him decide that.” In his later written order transferring venue, Judge Buchmeyer noted that “[t]he Government announced in open court that it does intend to file a motion asking that Judge Bunton transfer the September 16, 1991 trial from El Paso to Midland. The Court responded that this motion should be presented to Judge Bunton for his consideration.” These statements further suggest that Judge Buchmeyer had not already ruled that Midland was an inappropriate venue. We also note that Midland is approximately 300 miles from Dallas, that Judge Bunton went to great lengths during jury selection to question the jury panel regarding adverse publicity, and that intradis-trict transfers have always been considered matters within the broad discretion of the trial court. For all of these reasons we hold that the intradistrict transfer, if error at all, does not rise to the level of plain error. C. Joinder and Severance Issues Faulkner complains that there was misjoinder of the defendants in the indictment and that the district court erred in not granting his requests for severance. He had filed a motion to sever under Fed.R.Crim.P. 8(b), and had joined in Toler’s motion to sever the trial of Blain. He argues that joinder is improper if based simply on noncriminal relationships between the defendants, such as friendship, business relationships or ongoing contact. He specifically complains that several counts were based on conduct occurring after he retired in October of 1982, and that he was not even charged in seventeen of the counts that were submitted to the jury. Fed.R.Crim.P. 8(b) provides: Two or more defendants may be charged in the same indictment or information if they are alleged to have participated in the same act or transaction or in the same series of acts or transactions constituting an offense or offenses. Such defendants may be charged in one or more counts together or separately and all of the defendants need not be charged in each count. The propriety of joinder under Rule 8 is determined on the basis of the allegations in the indictment, which are accepted as true barring allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. United States v. Kaufman, 868 F.2d 994, 1003 (5th Cir.1988); United States v. Harrelson, 754 F.2d 1153, 1176 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 908, 106 S.Ct. 277, 88 L.Ed.2d 241 (1985). We have held that proper joinder requires that the offenses charged “must be shown to be part of a single plan or scheme,” and that “[p]roof of such a common scheme is typically supplied by an overarching conspiracy from which stems each of the substantive counts.” United States v. Lane, 735 F.2d 799, 805 (5th Cir.1984), rev’d in part on other grounds, 474 U.S. 438, 106 S.Ct. 725, 88 L.Ed.2d 814 (1986). Initial joinder was proper because Count 1 of the indictment alleges that all defendants were members of the same conspiracy to defraud savings and loan institutions through the device of fraudulent land loans, and that each defendant played an important role in this conspiracy. The substantive counts emanated from the same alleged conspiracy. Hence, under the letter of Rule 8(b) all defendants were alleged to have participated in the same series of acts or transactions constituting the criminal offense in Count 1. The Rule further makes clear that joinder is not improper because Faulkner and the other defendants were not all charged in each count. Fed.R.Crim.P. 14 provides that a court may order a severance “[i]f it appears that a defendant or the government is prejudiced by a joinder of offenses or of defendants in an indictment or information or by such joinder for trial together_” If join-der is proper in the first instance under Rule 8, the denial of a motion for severance is reviewable only for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Holloway, 1 F.3d 307, 310 (5th Cir.1993). To demonstrate an abuse of discretion, the defendant “bears the burden of showing specific and compelling prejudice that resulted in an unfair trial,” id. at 311, and such prejudice must be of a type “against which the trial court was unable to afford protection.” United States v. Pofahl, 990 F.2d 1456, 1483 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 266, 126 L.Ed.2d 218 (1993). We have further noted that “[t]he rule, rather that the exception, is that persons indicted together should be tried together, especially in conspiracy eases,” and that “the mere presence of a spillover effect does not ordinarily warrant severance.” Id. . We conclude that Faulkner has not established an abuse of discretion. While the trial was long, we believe that the jury was able to follow the evidence and the charge and reach a fair verdict. We note that each appellant was acquitted on one or more counts, which supports the inference that the jury considered separately the evidence as to each defendant and each count. United States v. Buckhalter, 986 F.2d 875, 877 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 203, 126 L.Ed.2d 160 (1993); United States v. Arzola-Amaya, 867 F.2d 1504, 1516 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 933, 110 S.Ct. 322, 107 L.Ed.2d 312 (1989). As to Faulkner’s contention that he was unfairly prejudiced by counts relating to events occurring after his “retirement” in 1982, evidence was presented that his and Toler’s retirement luncheon was a sham. Further, the court instructed the jury to “consider each offense and the evidence pertaining to it separately as to each Defendant. The fact that you might find some or all of the Defendants guilty of one of the offenses charged should not control your verdict with respect to any other offense charged against him or any of the other Defendants.” Similar instructions have been held sufficient to cure any possibility of prejudice. Zafiro v. United States, — U.S. -, -, 113 S.Ct. 933, 939, 122 L.Ed.2d 317 (1993); Pofahl, 990 F.2d at 1483 & n. 36. D. Alleged Variance Between Proof and Indictment Faulkner, Toler and Formann argue that there is a fatal variance between the single conspiracy alleged in Count 1 of the indictment and the evidence adduced at trial. Toler further argues that the jury’s verdict confirms such a variance. They argue that the government never proved a single overarching conspiracy, and that they were prejudiced by being tried on such a theory. Count 1 of the indictment was brought under 18 U.S.C. § 371, and the indictment and jury charge alleged six categories of illegal acts of the conspiracy. All four appellants were convicted on Count 1, but the jury did not find the same underlying substantive offenses as to each. The jury found that Faulkner and Toler conspired to misapply funds, that Blain conspired to obtain unlawful benefits, and that Formann conspired to inflate appraisals. Appellants claim that there was never a single conspiracy, and that the evidence at most showed the existence of several separate conspiracies. They argue that “the 1-30 corridor cannot in this case legitimately serve to amalgamate the various and varying theories, objectives, acts, and transactions shown by the evidence into one overall conspiracy,” and that “the evidence does not show the required unity of purpose or common design and understanding necessary to establish a single conspiracy.” Appellants cite Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 66 S.Ct. 1239, 90 L.Ed. 1557 (1946) and other cases for the proposition that it is unfair to try a defendant under a theory of a single conspiracy where none in fact exists, since there is “the danger of transference of guilt, i.e., the danger that despite demonstrating his lack of involvement in the conspiracy described in the indictment, a defendant may be convicted because of his association with, or conspiracy for unrelated purposes with, codefendants who were members of the charged conspiracy.” United States v. Hernandez, 962 F.2d 1152, 1159 (5th Cir.1992). In reviewing a claim of fatal variance, the court should reverse only if the evidence at trial in fact varied from what the indictment alleged, and the variance prejudiced the defendant’s substantial rights. United States v. Bruno, 809 F.2d 1097, 1103 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1057, 107 S.Ct. 2198, 95 L.Ed.2d 853 (1987). The government contends that this case is an example of a conspiracy “[w]here the activities of one aspect of the scheme are necessary or advantageous to the success of another aspect of the scheme or to the overall success of the venture ... or where ... the nature of the activity is such that knowledge on the part of one member concerning the existence and function of other members of the same scheme is necessarily implied due to the overlapping nature of the various roles of the participants.... ” United States v. Elam, 678 F.2d 1234, 1246 (5th Cir.1982). We agree. The nature of the dealings among the appellants, Sinclair and others was such that all were integral and important participants. The scheme required real estate developers (Faulkner, Toler) to make initial land purchases and submit overvalued appraisals (Formann, Tannehill) to a savings and loan (Blain, Jensen) in order to obtain loans for intermediate buyers (Sinclair, Blain and others). Syndicators (Sinclair and Hughes) would then sell the properties to other “investors” at a profit, and all participants in the scheme benefitted. The evidence, summarized above in the factual background, supports the jury’s finding of a single overarching agreement among appellants and others to enrich themselves through the device of fraudulent real estate loans. The jury’s finding that all four appellants did not conspire to commit the same federal offense does not compel a different conclusion. This court has found, in other contexts, that but a single conspiracy exists even though the agreement that constitutes it has several objectives and aims at the commission of several offenses. It is for this reason that the government need prove only that a conspirator agreed to one of the many objectives charged to hold him liable for the other objectives of the agreement. ... Because one conspiracy may have many illegal objectives, it will necessarily involve a number of sub-agreements to commit each of these specified objectives. Some members may concur in only some of the many objectives, yet they are liable for all because there is but one scheme, one enterprise, one conspiratorial web. United States v. Rodriguez, 585 F.2d 1234, 1249 (5th Cir.1978) (citations omitted), on rehearing en banc, 612 F.2d 906 (5th Cir.1980), affirmed, 450 U.S. 333, 101 S.Ct. 1137, 67 L.Ed.2d 275 (1981). We conclude that the jury found a single conspiracy. It was instructed that “proof of several separate conspiracies is not proof of the single conspiracy charged in the indictment unless one of the several conspiracies which is proved is the single conspiracy which the indictment charges” and that “if you should find that a particular Defendant was a member of some other conspiracy, not the one charged in the indictment, then you must acquit that Defendant. In other words, to find a Defendant guilty you must unanimously find that he was a member of the conspiracy charged in the indictment and not a member of some other separate conspiracy.” We presume that the jury followed the court’s instructions, Zafiro v. United States, — U.S. -, -, 113 S.Ct. 933, 939, 122 L.Ed.2d 317 (1993), and therefore do not agree with Toler that the verdict indicates that the jury found more than one conspiracy. In considering whether one or multiple conspiracies exist, “the principal factors are (1) the existence of a common goal; (2) the nature of the scheme and (3) overlapping of participants in the various dealings.” United States v. Richerson, 833 F.2d 1147, 1163 (5th Cir.1987). Here, appellants and others shared a common goal of enriching themselves by profiting from the leveraged selling and reselling of real estate along 1-30. Compare id. (“the common goal driving all members of the single conspiracy in this case was their personal gain through the fraud of Pool Offshore.”) The nature of the scheme was such that different participants played different but important functions necessary to its success. Compare id. at 1154 (“The nature of this conspiracy was that each member had a different task and level of involvement.... The success of this conspiracy depended on the continued willingness of each member to perform his function.”). Finally there was considerable overlapping of participants in the various dealings. While no two transactions were identical, Faulkner and Toler would typically make the initial purchase of the real estate and then sell it with the help of appraisers, bankers and others they knew well or had personally selected. The same small group of appraisers, bankers, closers, syndicators and brokers would share in the cash thrown off from the land flips that followed. Further, even if the evidence established and the jury found the existence of separate conspiracies, we find no reversible error in trying the appellants under an indictment alleging one conspiracy. The jury plainly found in its verdict on Count 1 that all four appellants participated in a conspiracy, and the evidence is sufficient to support that verdict. A variance between the offense charged in the indictment and the proof relied upon at trial constitutes reversible error only if it affects the substantial rights of the defendant. Bruno, 809 F.2d at 1103; United States v. Hernandez, 962 F.2d 1152, 1159 (5th Cir.1992), quoted with approval in United States v. Limones, 8 F.3d 1004, 1010 (5th. Cir.1993). We do not find such a variance here. We turn to the font of jurisprudence on this subject, Kotteakos itself, and find it distinguishable. • At the outset, we note that the Supreme Court’s decision turned on the particular circumstances presented to it. There, the variance was such that (1) “[t]he indictment charged a single conspiracy only,” 328 U.S. at 772, 66 S.Ct. at 1251, (2) “[t]he jury could not possibly have found, upon the evidence, that there was only one conspiracy,” id. at 768, 66 S.Ct. at 1249, and (3) there was no cautionary instruction given to the jury regarding the transference of guilt. “In Kotteakos, a single indictment charged thirty-two defendants with involvement in a single conspiracy. Although the evidence established as many as eight separate conspiracies, the judge failed to give a precautionary jury instruction regarding transference of guilt.” United States v. Guerra-Marez, 928 F.2d 665, 672 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 322, 116 L.Ed.2d 263 (1991). The circumstances- here are different. The indictment most assuredly charged a single conspiracy and makes reference to “the conspiracy.” However, as explained above, this is not a case where the jury could not possibly have found one conspiracy. Further, in our case the court gave cautionary instructions on transference of guilt. In addition, “[w]e have long held that when the indictment alleges the conspiracy count as a single conspiracy, but the ‘government proves multiple conspiracies and a defendant’s involvement in at least one of them, then clearly there is no variance affecting that defendant’s substantial rights.’ ” United States v. Jackson, 978 F.2d 903, 911 (5th Cir.1992) (quoting United States v. Richerson, 833 F.2d 1147, 1155 (5th Cir.1987)), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 113 S.Ct. 2429, 124 L.Ed.2d 649 (1993). See also Limones, 8 F.3d at 1010 (quoting Jackson with approval); United States v. L’Hoste, 609 F.2d 796, 801 (5th Cir.) (“If the Government proves multiple conspiracies and defendant’s involvement in at least one of them, then clearly there is no variance affecting that defendant’s substantial rights.”), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 833, 101 S.Ct. 104, 66 L.Ed.2d 39 (1980); Jolley v. United States, 232 F.2d 83, 88 (5th Cir.1956) (“If more than one conspiracy was proved, of at least one of which the appellant was guilty, it is clear that there was no variance affecting his substantial rights.”), quoted with approval in United States v. Wayman, 510 F.2d 1020, 1025 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 846, 96 S.Ct. 84, 46 L.Ed.2d 67 (1975). We do not believe that our circuit has held this rule to be absolute; nor do we believe that our circuit has delineated any clear-cut exceptions to this rule. We do believe that doctrine regarding variance between an indictment alleging a single conspiracy and proof of separate conspiracies is but one subset of the general concerns of improper joinder and severance. We therefore conclude that where the indictment alleges a single conspiracy and the evidence establishes each defendant’s participation in at least one conspiracy a defendant’s substantial rights are affected only if the defendant can establish reversible error under general principles of joinder and severance. For the reasons explained in the preceding section of this opinion, we do not conclude that joinder was improper or that the district court abused its discretion in denying the motions for severance. Hence, we would find no reversible error even if we agreed with appellants that the evidence and jury verdict established the existence of multiple conspiracies. E. Denial of Request for Voir Dire Concerning Mid-Trial Publicity Toler complains that the district court erred in denying his request for a voir dire of the jury concerning mid-trial publicity. On the first day of trial, the district court admonished the prospective jurors at length on the importance of avoiding press reports during the trial. At the beginning of the second day of trial, after the jury was selected, the court again admonished the jury to avoid press reports of the trial. Shortly thereafter, out of the jury’s presence, counsel for Faulkner informed the court that he had been told that on the previous evening a local television newscast had reported that the first trial had ended in a mistrial caused by jury tampering. None of the attorneys indicated that they had seen the broadcast, and counsel for Faulkner did not identify who had informed him of the broadcast. Counsel expressed his deep concern that such a story would be prejudicial to his client, and asked the court to voir dire the jury to determine whether any members had heard the broadcast. The court denied this request, but offered “to tell them what happened at the last trial.” Counsel for Blain suggested that the jury be advised “that there has been a prior trial and that the trial ended as a result of the jury’s inability to reach a verdict, and specifically address that fact that you have been told there is news reports that the trial ended for some other reason and that is not true.” Counsel for Toler then joined in the suggestions of counsel for Faulkner and Blain. The jury returned and the court advised it: [Tjhere was a previous trial. And the reason that we had to do it again is because the Judge did declare a mistrial in that case. I have been advised that there may have been a news account as to the reason for it, why they had a mistrial before, and the reason simply was that the Jury was unable to resolve the differences that they had in the case and could not render a verdict. That was the only reason. At the end of the second day of trial, the district court again admonished the jury not to read or listen to press reports. On a number of occasions this court has addressed whether the failure to conduct a jury voir dire concerning mid-trial publicity constitutes reversible error. Recently, we found that the failure to conduct such an inquiry was reversible error in United States v. Aragon, 962 F.2d 439 (5th Cir.1992). Ara- gon offers a thorough analysis of the subject of mid-trial publicity and our court’s treatment of the subject in prior cases, and accordingly provides a framework for our own analysis. In Aragon, three defendants were convicted of drug offenses after a two-day trial in El Paso. On the first morning of the trial, the city’s largest newspaper published an article about one of the defendants on the first page of the metropolitan section. Among other things the article recounted (1) the defendant’s prior history of drug arrests and convictions, (2) his alleged boasting of the smuggling of tons of marijuana through a smuggling pipeline, and (3) his dealings with a notorious narcotics kingpin. Id. at 441-42. The district court refused a request by defense counsel to conduct additional voir dire to determine whether any juror had read or heard of the article. On appeal this court explained that the denial of such a request is subject to review for abuse of discretion. Id. at 443. It further explained that voir dire is required if there could arise “serious questions of possible prejudice.” Id. This question is to be answered by following a two-step inquiry to determine whether such “serious questions” exist: First, the district court must look at the nature of the news material to determine whether the material is innately prejudicial. Factors such as the timing of the media coverage, its possible effects on legal defenses, and the character of the material disseminated merit consideration. Second, the court must then discern the probability that the publicity has in fact reached the jury. At this juncture, the prominence of the media coverage and the nature, number, and regularity of warnings against viewing the coverage become relevant. Id. at 444. Finally, the court noted that “[ejvery claim of potential jury prejudice must turn upon its own facts.” Id. See also United States v. Herring, 568 F.2d 1099, 1105 (5th Cir.1978) (stating that “cases involving questions of prejudicial publicity necessarily tend to turn on their own facts”). In our case, we consider the issue a close one, and believe that the better practice would have been for the trial judge to conduct the requested voir dire. Considering all of the circumstances, however, we cannot say that the court abused its discretion, and find Aragon and other cases finding reversible error distinguishable for a number of reasons. First, the instructions given by the court in our case on the first day of trial, regarding the need to avoid press reports, were unusually lengthy and emphatic. These instructions, reprinted at the margin, cannot fairly be characterized as boilerplate or casual recitations of standard jury instructions. For example, one admonishment began with the words “now, most important” and “if you don’t remember anything else I say today. ...” Another warning ended with the words “we do not wish to be responsible for you haying to violate your oath to God.” See United States v. Arzola-Amaya, 867 F.2d 1504, 1514 (5th Cir.) (finding no reversible error where trial judge “was very careful and very specific” in giving two cautionary instructions prior to the introduction of evidence), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 933, 110 S.Ct. 322, 107 L.Ed.2d 312 (1989); Aragon, 962 F.2d at 445 (finding instructions inadequate where they were given “rather quickly and casually by the court”). Second, the court here gave a specific statement to the jury regarding the aspect of the broadcast alleged to be prejudicial, namely the statement in the broadcast that the earlier trial had ended in a mistrial due to jury tampering. The court explained that the only reason for the mistrial “simply was that the Jury was unable to resolve the differences that they had in the case and could not render a verdict.” Such an instruction was in fact suggested by one of the defense counsel. Our prior cases have not involved a statement by the court to the jury attempting to rebut directly the alleged prejudicial statement in the press report. Third, the jury acquitted all of the defendants on at least one count, and we have held that such acquittals weigh in favor of finding no abuse of discretion. We do not believe that this fact standing alone is an important one, but we must agree with our prior panels that it should inform our analysis. Fourth, the instructions described above were given four times during the first two days of trial, and the court on numerous occasions throughout the trial continued to direct the jury to avoid press reports. The frequency of such warnings is a factor to consider in this context. Aragon, 962 F.2d at 444 (noting that number and regularity of warnings against viewing press coverage is relevant to the second step of the two-step inquiry); United States v. Harrelson, 754 F.2d 1153, 1164 (5th Cir.) (finding no reversible error where court repeated cautionary instruction regarding extraneous matter each day of the trial), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 908, 106 S.Ct. 277, 88 L.Ed.2d 241 (1985). Fifth, the district court and this court were given very sketchy details about the content of the broadcast in question. It is therefore difficult to determine just how potentially prejudicial the broadcast was. We have sufficient trust in our bar to presume that the broadcast occurred and that it did mention the mistrial and alleged jury tampering. However, none of the trial counsel actually saw the broadcast. Counsel for Faulkner stated that he had been told by others about the broadcast, but did not even identify those other persons. A tape or transcript of the broadcast is not available. Defense counsel did not know for certain which network had broadcast the story, stating only that “I think it was an ABC affiliate.” We cannot tell whether the broadcast stated as an unqualified fact that jury tampering occurred, or whether it stated that such tampering had merely been alleged. We cannot know the length of the story, and whether the alleged jury tampering was the thrust of the story or a minor aside. We do not mean to suggest that appellants waived their right to appeal this point by failing to provide a copy of the broadcast. However, the lack of details about the broadcast militates in favor of finding no abuse of discretion. For example, we have no basis for concluding that, the prejudicial impact of the broadcast approached the prejudicial impact of the newspaper story in Aragon, which described the defendant’s pri- or drug history and convictions, detailed his boasts of having imported tons of marijuana, and linked him to a notorious drug kingpin. Finally, we believe that the length of the trial 'is relevant to determining the prejudicial impact of mid-trial publicity. Here, the broadcast occurred on the first day of a trial that lasted approximately seven weeks. The press report in Aragon came in the middle of a two-day trial. We believe that, given the length of the trial, the potential prejudicial impact of the press report in our case was far less than the impact in Aragon. F. The Deliberate Ignorance Instruction ■ Toler complains that the district court, erred in including in the jury instructions a deliberate ignorance instruction. The instruction, given over Toler’s objection, stated: The element of knowledge may be satisfied by inferences drawn from proof that a defendant deliberately closed his eyes to what would otherwise have been obvious to him. A finding beyond reasonable doubt of a conscious purpose to avoid enlightenment would permit in [sic] inference of knowledge. Stated another way, a defendant’s knowledge of a fact may be inferred from willful blindness to the existence of the fact. It is entirely up to you as to whether you find any deliberate closing of the eyes, and the inferences to be drawn from any such evidence. A showing of negligence or mistake is not sufficient to support a finding of willfulness or knowledge. “We review jury instructions to determine “whether the court’s charge as a whole, is a correct statement of the law and whether it clearly instructs jurors as to the principles of law applicable to the factual issues confronting them.’” United States v. Stouffer, 986 F.2d 916, 925 (5th Cir.), (quoting United States v. August, 835 F.2d 76, 77 (5th Cir.1987)), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 115, 126 L.Ed.2d 80 (1993). Toler does not contend that the instruction was an incorrect statement of the law, but claims that it was not factually supported by the evidence presented. While we have stated that a deliberate ignorance instruction “should rarely be given,” United States v. Ojebode, 957 F.2d 1218, 1229 (5th Cir.1992), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 113 S.Ct. 1291, 122 L.Ed.2d 683 (1993), we have also “consistently upheld such an instruction as long as sufficient evidence supported its insertion into the charge.” United States v. Daniel, 957 F.2d 162, 169 (5th Cir.1992). This court employs a two-part test in determining whether a deliberate ignorance instruction can be given. “The evidence must show that: (1) the defendant was subjectively aware of a high probability of the existence of the illegal conduct; and (2) the defendant purposely contrived to avoid learning of the illegal conduct.” Ojebode, 957 F.2d at 1229. Toler focuses on the second element of this test. He suggests that a deliberate ignorance instruction cannot be submitted absent evidence that the defendant engaged in affirmative acts to avoid knowledge of wrongdoing, and that no such evidence was presented here. We do not agree that affirmative acts to avoid knowledge must always be shown. We have held that in some cases the likelihood of criminal wrongdoing is so high, and the circumstance surrounding a defendant’s activities and cohorts are so suspicious, that a failure to conduct further inquiry or inspection can justify the inclusion of the deliberate ignorance instruction. Here, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, the circumstances of the real estate transactions were extraordinarily suspicious. By way of example only, the jury was presented with a wealth of evidence, including the testimony of four alleged coconspirators (Sinclair, Hutson, Nelson and Hughes) from which it could conclude that Toler, an experienced real estate developer and close associate of Faulkner, was aware of most or all of the following: (1) Faulkner and Toler reaped enormous profits of tens of millions of dollars each by selling land along 1-30 for a relatively brief two-year period, (2) the loans which made these profits possible were never denied and rapidly approved, (3) subsequent loans on the properties were likewise always or almost always approved, (4) Faulkner and Toler were always able to dictate the price they wanted for the properties they sold, and likewise could dictate who would receive commissions or other payments at closing and in what amounts, (5) Toler and Faulkner made a loan to Blain that enabled him to take over Empire, (6) with the help of Faulkner, Toler and Sinclair, Blain became an intermediate seller of one of the properties and received a profit of approximately $15 million, (7) Paul Jensen, a young newcomer to Dallas, gained influence or control over two savings and loans, made over $100 million dollars in loans for Toler/Faulkner projects, and in short order was living in a multi-million dollar landmark Dallas mansion, (8) the closer, bankers and appraisers for the 1-30 were lavished with gifts and bonuses, (9) Empire’s board members included Jane Nix, the closer on all of Faulkner’s deals, and Brenda Kennedy, a close friend of Faulkner who received millions of dollars in commissions on the property sales despite a lack of any apparent effort on her part (10) direct evidence of ownership of properties by Toler and Faulkner was sometimes concealed in the chain of title, (11) even when properties were bought and sold in rapid succession, sometimes on the same day, the appraisals were always high enough to support the loans, (12) buyers would not put up any cash for a down payment, and typically walked away from the closing with cash in their pockets and a loan large enough to pay all closing costs and future interest payments for some period of time, (13) sales of properties by Faulkner and Toler never fell through due to lender concern about the creditworthiness of a borrower or the value of the property pledged as collateral, (14) separate accounts were created at the title company for the benefit of Faulkner and Toler, and Toler had suggested destroying what sparse records existed on the accounts, and (15) the area was being overbuilt and arms-length sales of the condominiums were far from justifying the level of loans and construction. This is not to say that Toler was not entitled to present evidence and receive a lengthy jury instruction on his theory of the case—that he was unaware of any wrongdoing and was simply a gifted or lucky businessman who legitimately prospered during a real estate boom that was not of his making. However, under these circumstances we find no error in including the deliberate ignorance instruction. The instruction is appropriate where a defendant claims a lack of guilty knowledge and the evidence at trial supports an inference of deliberate indifference. United States v. Cartwright, 6 F.3d 294, 301 (5th Cir.1993). G. Sufficiency of Evidence Points Appellants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support their convictions. In assessing the sufficiency of the evidence, we determine whether, viewing the evidence and the inferences that may be drawn therefrom, a rational jury could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Pruneda-Gonzalez, 953 F.2d 190, 193 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 2952, 119 L.Ed.2d 575 (1992). We review the evidence, whether direct or circumstantial, and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the verdict. United States v. Salazar, 958 F.2d 1285, 1290-91 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 113 S.Ct. 185, 121 L.Ed.2d 129 (1992). “[I]t is not necessary that the evidence exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence or be wholly inconsistent with every conclusion except that of guilt, provided that a reasonable trier of fact could find that the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Stephens, 964 F.2d 424, 427 (5th Cir.1992). 1. Formann Formann was convicted of conspiracy under Count 1, seventeen counts of submitting false appraisals under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, two counts of wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and one count of misapplying funds of a federally insured institution under 18 U.S.C. § 657. He claims insufficient evidence as to all of these counts. To establish guilt for conspiracy, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that two or more people agreed to pursue an unlawful objective together, that the defendant voluntarily agreed to join the conspiracy, and that one of the members of the conspiracy performed an overt act to further the conspiracy. United States v. Parekh, 926 F.2d 402, 406 (5th Cir.1991). Each element may be inferred from circumstantial evidence. United States v. Cardenas, 9 F.3d 1139, 1157 (5th Cir.1993); United States v. Shivley, 927 F.2d 804, 809 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2806, 115 L.Ed.2d 979 (1991). In rendering its verdict on Count 1, the jury found that of the four defendants only Formann conspired to overvalue land under § 1014. As explained above in the discussion of the variance issue, the jury’s finding that the three other appellants had not conspired with Formann to overvalue land does not mean that Formann’s conspiracy conviction cannot stand. We find sufficient evidence that Formann was part of the overall conspiracy alleged in Count 1 and that he conspired with Paul Tannehill, Larry Hutson or others to inflate the appraisals. Formann was a former examiner for the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and had at one time served as the managing officer of a Texas savings and loan institution. The jury could reasonably infer that he understood the role his appraisals played in the 1-30 loans and land flips. Evidence was presented that Formann had numerous dealings with Faulkner and Sinclair, and that appraisals were prepared on the 1-30 properties at each stage of the land flips. “Parties who knowingly participate with core conspirators to achieve a common goal may be members of an overall conspiracy.... The members of a conspiracy which functions through a division of labor need not have an awareness of the existence of the other members, or be privy to the details of each aspect of the conspiracy.” United States v. Richerson, 833 F.2d 1147, 1154 (5th Cir.1987). Tannehill was Formann’s boss during part of 1982 and 1983. He signed appraisals prepared by Formann during this period. Formann and Tannehill had a joint interest in one 1-30 property and succeeded in reselling it at a profit. The two received a fixed percentage of each appraisal fee paid. While working with Tannehill Formann could not sign appraisals since he was not an MAI appraiser. At one point in 1983 one of Tannehill’s employees suggested that the company cease preparing appraisals on the 1-3