Full opinion text
HOLMES, Circuit Judge. Defendant-Appellant George David Gordon is a former securities attorney convicted of multiple criminal charges relating to his alleged participation in a- “pump-and-dump” scheme where he, along with others, violated the federal securities laws by artificially inflating the value of various stocks, and then turning around and selling them for a substantial profit. The government also restrained some of his property before the indictment was handed down and ultimately obtained criminal forfeiture of that property. We affirm Mr. Gordon’s conviction and sentence, as well as the accompanying forfeiture orders. I. Factual and Procedural Background Mr. Gordon was a securities attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The government charged that Mr. Gordon and Richard Clark, a Tulsa businessman, engaged in a “pump-and-dump” scheme. As part of their scheme, Messrs. Gordon and Clark, along with other alleged co-conspirators, “acquired millions of shares in ‘penny stock’ companies[,] ... used false and backdated documents to make their shares publicly tradeable[,] ... [and] coordinated trading among themselves and nominees they controlled to create the false appearance of an active market for the stock[s].” Aplee. Br. at 3. The government further claimed that the conspirators initiated false and misleading advertising campaigns to promote the stocks, sold the stocks through “an array of bank accounts and nominee[s],” and engaged in a subsequent cover-up to conceal their conduct from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Id. at 3-4. The scheme can be traced back to 2004 when Mr. Gordon began dealing with Mark Lindberg and Joshua Lankford, two Dallas stock promoters (also alleged members of the conspiracy). Through a sequence of transactions, Mr. Gordon assisted Mr. Lindberg, Mr. Lankford, and others in, inter alia, establishing and promoting the stock of numerous companies. Transactions involving three companies headline the government’s charges: specifically, National Storm Management (“National Storm”), Deep Rock Oil & Gas (“Deep Rock”), and Global Beverage Company (“Global Beverage”). The government also alleged that Mr. Gordon fraudulently obtained free-trading shares of International Power Group (“IPG”). We briefly discuss the material facts relevant to each company below. A. National Storm National Storm was a roofing and siding company in Illinois with annual revenues of around $8 million. Mr. Gordon and Mr. Lindberg met with National Storm’s president in 2005 to discuss financing options. The parties agreed to take the company public. In pursuit of that goal, Mr. Gordon and an associate (New York businessman Richard Singer) arranged for a merger between National Storm and The 18th Letter — a public “shell company ... that had been incorporated and had issued stock in 2002.” Aplt. Opening Br. at 9. Mr. Gordon forwarded to Mr. Singer a legal opinion letter pursuant to SEC Rule 144, signed by an associate attorney, Robert Bertsch, stating that The 18th Letter’s shares were freely tradeable under Rule 144’s criteria because the shares had been purchased by the respective owners two years ago. See 17 C.F.R. § 230.144(k) (“Rule 144”) (2005) (“The requirements of paragraphs (c), (e), (f) and (h) of this section shall not apply to restricted securities sold ... [by] a person who is not an affiliate of the issuer at the time of the sale ..., provided a period of at least two years has elapsed since the later of the date the securities were acquired from the issuer or from an affiliate of the issuer.” (emphasis added)); see also M & A West, 588 F.3d at 1051 (“Rule 144(k) permits a person who is not an affiliate of the issuer ... to sell restricted securities without complying with certain requirements after they have held the securities for a period of two years.” (footnote omitted)). Mr. Singer testified that because he was the only shareholder in The 18th Letter, Mr. Gordon instructed him to “offer some friends a thousand dollars each to falsely claim that they were shareholders.” Aplee. Br. at 6. Mr. Gordon’s office transmitted to Mr. Singer “backdated corporate records ... that purported to memorialize Singers’ [sic] friends’ purchase of shares two years previously” — i.e., seemingly with the aim of satisfying Rule 144’s requirements. Id.; see R., Vol. VIII, at 1494-98 (Trial Test, of Richard Singer, dated Apr. 14, 2010) (“[The documents] were backdated to show that the shareholders owned the stock longer than they actually did, so upon becoming a public company those shares would be freely tradable to sell in the market.”). The opinion letter was transmitted to a transfer agent so that the shares at issue could be traded publicly on an “over-the-counter” (“OTC”) market. See generally Black’s Law Dictionary 1214 (9th ed. 2009) (defining “over-the-counter market” as “[t]he market for securities that are not traded on an organized exchange”). The merged company consisted of six million freely-tradeable shares — or 15% of the total shares. National Storm’s president held the remaining interest in the form of restricted shares (i.e., non-trading shares). In 2005, several storms pelted the Gulf of Mexico, causing “severe damage” throughout the Southern states. Aplt. Opening Br. at 6. Because National Storm was a building company, Messrs. Gordon, Lindberg and Lankford wanted to take advantage of the potential for increased share performance, so they employed a stock promoter named Dean Sheptycki (a charged co-conspirator) “who could write and send ... millions of fax advertisements each day about a company.” Id. at 10. A “fax blast” campaign was initiated subsequently; thousands of faxes were sent out touting strong market expectations for National Storm’s future growth. A similar “e-mail blast” campaign followed. The distributed material was misleading in many ways. For instance, an August 31, 2005, fax represented that “Wall Street expectations” for the company’s growth were “207% now” and “450% in the next 12 months” — this, despite the fact that no Wall Street “analysts” were covering the company. Aplee. Br. at 7 (citation omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Aplt. Addendum, ex. 4 (Nat’l Storm Fax Advertisement, dated Aug. 31, 2005). Evidence also was introduced at trial that the faxes included misleading statements regarding the source of the information in order to “conceal the fact that the blast had been prepared by Sheptycki, reviewed by Gordon, and paid for from Gordon’s client trust account.” Aplee. Br. at 8; see also R., Vol. VIII, at 3049-50 (Trial Test, of Mark Lindberg, dated Apr. 6, 2010) (noting that a marketing company included in the fax blast disclosures actually had no involvement with their dissemination, and that a statement suggesting that nonaffiliated shareholders paid for the advertisements was untrue). Similarly, one mass e-mail that contained information regarding National Storm’s purported significant expected growth referred readers to the SEC’s website for investor information. But, because National Storm was a so-called “Pink Sheet” OTC company, it was not required to file periodic reports with the SEC. See generally SEC v. Whittemore, 659 F.3d 1, 5 (D.C.Cir.2011) (describing the Pink Sheet system as “a trading system that lists small companies that do not meet the requirements of the major stock exchanges”); SEC v. Platforms Wireless Int’l Corp., 617 F.3d 1072, 1081 (9th Cir.2010) (noting that the defendant’s “stock has been traded on the Pink Sheets, now known as Pink Quote, an inter-dealer electronic quotation and trading system for registered and unregistered securities”); Black’s Law Dictionary 1265 (defining “pink sheet” as “[a] daily publication listing over-the-counter stocks, their market-makers, and their prices”); R., Vol. I, at 53 (describing “Pink Sheets” as “a quotation service for over-the-counter stocks”). Throughout the advertising campaign, Mr. Gordon, along with other co-conspirators, including Mr. Lindberg, used various “nominee” accounts to disguise ownership of National Storm shares and coordinate trading. National Storm’s stock began to rise. As the prices rose, the conspirators began selling their shares. Ultimately, the conspirators made more than $5 million from the manipulation of National Storm. B. Deep Rock The conspirators conducted another promotion, this time of Deep Rock, a Tulsa-based oil company. See Aplt. Opening Br. at 12 (“The rise in natural gas prices during the early part of 2005 caused Lindberg to want to do a similar promotion with Deep Rock....”). Mr. Clark had held a majority of the “non-insider” shares of Deep Rock for many years. The government presented testimony that, similar to what had occurred with National Storm, Mr. Gordon arranged for Mr. Clark’s shares to be transferred to various nominees in order to disguise their ownership. See R., Vol. VIII, at 3138-39 (noting that shares were “parked” with others in order “to not disclose who actually controlled] all the shares”). Mr. Gordon prepared an opinion letter stating that the nominees had fulfilled Rule 144’s requirements in order for the stock to be assigned a symbol for public trading. The conspirators began coordinated trading in Deep Rock stock, some of which occurred via separate nominee accounts. See id. at 3140 (discussing how the conspirators were able to “prime” Deep Rock stock — i.e., create the appearance of high-volume trading before promotions began). In September 2005, they sent out a series of fax and e-mail blasts hyping Deep Rock and touting its potential for astronomical profits in the wake of the chaos created by Hurricane Katrina and in light of rising energy prices. These faxes, like those in the National Storm blast, contained many misleading assertions. Also, in support of their efforts, the conspirators caused to be prepared certain promotional “maga-logs” — i.e., catalogue-type brochures. Mr. Gordon personally reviewed some of the promotional material. On one occasion, he responded on Deep Rock’s behalf to a complaint about the fax blasts, denying knowledge of the source of the faxes, and noting that Deep Rock “would consider joining a lawsuit against the perpetrators.” Aplee. Br. at 14. Deep Rock’s stock price rose. See Aplt. Opening Br. at 13 (noting that “[i]t spiked in September, 2005, then began a steady decline into 2006”). Mr. Gordon, along with his co-conspirators, made around $5 million in gross proceeds from Deep Rock sales. C. Global Beverage In 2005, Mr. Lindberg and other co-conspirators became involved with a sport drink company (Rudy Beverages) founded by Rudy Ruettiger, a former Notre Dame athlete, and the subject of the major motion picture, Rudy. Mr. Ruettiger wanted to expand his business, and in the summer of 2005, conspirators, including Mr. Lind-berg, put a plan into action to help finance the company. Global Beverages, a company in which certain conspirators controlled a substantial stake, acquired Rudy Beverages in the fall of 2005. While financing issues were worked out, Mr. Gordon permitted the conspirators to “park” millions of corporate shares in his client trust account. Shares of Global Beverage became publicly tradeable. And Mr. Lindberg and other co-conspirators devised a plan to manipulate the stock. See R., Vol. VIII, at 178 (Trial Test. of Mark Lindberg, dated Apr. 7, 2010) (noting that there was no difference between the “manipulation of Global Beverage ... [and] National Storm and Deep Rock”). Mr. Lindberg testified that, as part of the plan, the conspirators placed many shares with nominees and began a promotional campaign for the company. Mr. Sheptycki composed and sent numerous faxes for the campaign. Further, e-mails and magalogs were transmitted. The promotional materials contained misleading information. See id. at 215 (noting that Mr. Sheptycki “made up” information regarding the source of the materials). The price of Global Beverage stock spiked during the end of 2005 and beginning of 2006, but, due in part to disappointing financials, eventually dropped. The conspirators, including Mr. Gordon, made roughly $25 million total from the manipulation of Global Beverage. D. International Power Group Sometime in 2004 or 2005, Mr. Gordon approached Mr. Lindberg about getting a trading symbol for a private company that he and Mr. Singer had discovered: IPG. Mr. Gordon used a company called “Ed-net” — an entity that was controlled by his “longtime friend and business associate,” Mark White — to serve as a shell for a reverse merger with IPG. Id. at 251. See generally M & A West, 538 F.3d at 1046 (“A reverse merger is a transaction in which a privately-held corporation acquires a publicly-traded corporation, thereby allowing the private corporation to transform into a publicly-traded corporation without the necessity of making an initial stock offering.”). Mr. Gordon prepared a Rule 144 opinion letter and instructed Mr. Singer to have his attorney, Robert Bertsch, sign it on his firm’s letterhead, “even though [Mr. Bertsch] had never communicated with the purported shareholders.” Aplee. Br. at 13; see R., Vol. VIII, at 1604 (answering, “No. Not at all,” to the question, “Did Mr. Bertsch have any conversations with any of [the shareholders]?”). Mr. Singer and Mr. Bertsch were given IPG shares. Mr. Gordon advised Mr. Lindberg’s assistant, Chasity Thompson, to prepare backdated corporate documents for Ednet, including bylaws and board meeting notes, because Mr. White ostensibly had “lost all the [original] documents.” R., Vol. VIII, at 907-08 (Trial Test, of Chasity Thompson, dated Apr. 12, 2010). After the Rule 144 opinion that Mr. Gordon drafted was transmitted to a transfer agent, unrestricted shares were issued. Mr. Singer gradually sold shares on Mr. Gordon’s behalf, and at one point in November 2005, wire-transferred roughly $1.7 million of the proceeds to “pay off the mortgage on [Mr. Gordon’s] house.” Id. at 1610. The government also presented evidence that Mr. Singer later prepared a false, backdated document purporting to memorialize a sale of IPG stock between Mr. Gordon and Mr. Singer that never actually took place. This document allegedly was created in an attempt to stop the government from obtaining forfeiture of Mr. Gordon’s home. E. The Investigation and Prosecution In 2004, SEC official Samuel Draddy began looking into an unrelated Pink Sheet company that had some “unusual trading surrounding its stock and appeared to be the subject of a promotional campaign.” Id. at 1753 (Trial Test, of Samuel Draddy, dated Apr. 15, 2010). This case led to further investigations of other “similarly-situated issuers” with unusual trading patterns and promotional campaigns. Id. After taking a deeper look, investigators noticed that the companies under consideration revealed similar patterns where “the people involved owned shells, [which] were publicly-traded issuers that had no legitimate business purpose, ... [and t]hey would then get private companies to reverse-merge into these shells so they could get publicly traded.” Id. at 1754. Mr. Gordon represented some of the companies and individuals involved in the investigations, including National Storm and Deep Rock. SEC investigators called Mr. Gordon on September 20, 2005. Before commencing the discussion, they informed Mr. Gordon that he could speak with counsel before answering their questions, and that he could choose whether or not to answer the questions as a general matter. They also informed him that “there [were] potential penalties, both civil and criminal, for giving false answers to government officials.” Id. at 1772. During the conversation, Mr. Gordon was asked about, and denied any knowledge of, the source of the National Storm and Deep Rock promotions. In 2007, roughly two years before the indictment was filed, the government placed a caveat on two lots that Mr. Gordon had previously acquired as a part owner of the Delvest Corporation (the “Del-vest lots”). See generally Black’s Law Dictionary 252 (defining “caveat” as “[a] warning or proviso”). Further, a caveat was placed on Mr. Gordon’s personal residence. The government also seized two of his law firm’s bank accounts. The government filed a civil forfeiture action against the residential property in 2007 and replaced the caveat with a lis pendens. Upon the response of Mr. Gordon’s wife— who was listed as the primary owner of the home — the government obtained a stay pending the resolution of its criminal investigation. When the indictment was returned in 2009, it sought forfeiture of both the residence and the law firm accounts. At trial, the government called various witnesses (and co-conspirators) to summarize the details of the conspiracy, including Mr. Lindberg and Mr. Singer. Investigator Draddy also testified about the promotional campaigns and Mr. Gordon’s discussion with the SEC. Other witnesses were called to summarize volumes of documentary evidence. Late in the trial, the district court excused a petit juror. Specifically, after the government rested its case, a juror informed a court staff member that she wanted to serve as an alternate because her continued presence on the jury “could affect the outcome of the case,” R., Yol. VIII, at 2468 (Trial Tr., dated Apr. 29, 2010), because of, among other things, her “take on [certain] personalities,” id. at 2478 (Trial Test, of Juror, dated Apr. 29, 2010). After an investigation, the court decided, over Mr. Gordon’s objection, that it would excuse her “out of an abundance of caution.” Id. at 2505. Ultimately; Mr. Gordon was convicted on all counts that were submitted to the jury. F. Post-Trial Proceedings The U.S. Probation Office prepared a Presentence Report (“PSR”), recommending various upward adjustments under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“U.S.S.G”) for offense-specific characteristics. The parties filed multiple objections to the PSR. The PSR notably recommended a twenty-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(1)(K), because Mr. Gordon’s fraudulent conduct, both individually and jointly with others in the conspiracy, caused an estimated loss to investors of, at the very least, an amount exceeding $7,000,000. However, the PSR made explicit that total loss could not be accurately calculated, and in that vein, set forth a potential alternative estimate of $10,720,000 representing Mr. Gordon’s illicit gain from the stock scheme. Pertinently, the government objected both to the PSR’s calculation of loss, and to its alternative, gain figure, arguing that — taking the most conservative approach — reasonable estimations of loss (and alternatively, gain) far exceeded $20,000,000, which would merit a greater enhancement. Agreeing with the government, the district court determined that it would be too difficult to determine the losses suffered by each individual investor. Consequently, it calculated an illicit gain of $46,642,313 as an alternative measure of loss, resulting in a twenty-two-level increase in Mr. Gordon’s offense level under § 2B1.1(b)(1)(L) of the Guidelines. The court subsequently arrived at a total offense level of forty-five and a criminal history category of I, which produced a guideline range of life. However, the court granted Mr. Gordon’s request for a substantial downward variance and sentenced him to a total of 188 months’ imprisonment. The court further ordered Mr. Gordon to pay $6,150,136.79 in restitution. The district court also ordered forfeiture of, inter alia, up to $1,702 million in equity in Mr. Gordon’s home and the full amount in his law firm bank accounts as directly forfeitable assets. The Delvest lots, along with some of Mr. Gordon’s other accounts and property, were later ordered forfeited as “substitute” assets. See generally 21 U.S.C. § 853(p) (providing for the forfeiture of substitute assets); United States v. Bornfield, 145 F.3d 1123, 1139 (10th Cir. 1998) (“An asset cannot logically be both forfeitable and a substitute asset.... Assets involved in or traceable to the offense are forfeitable once the requisite nexus is established. The substitute assets provision allows the forfeiture of other assets not already forfeitable when the forfeitable asset is unavailable due to some act or omission of the defendant.” (citation omitted)). Mr. Gordon now appeals his conviction and sentence, and the district court’s forfeiture orders. II. Discussion On appeal, Mr. Gordon raises multiple issues relating to the validity of his conviction and sentence, and the propriety of the government’s conduct (both before and after trial) related to the forfeiture of his assets. In the end, we find no reversible error and affirm Mr. Gordon’s conviction and sentence, as well as the district court’s forfeiture orders. A. Claims Relating to the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel Mr. Gordon first argues that the government improperly seized his assets and, as a consequence, substantially deprived him of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. However, we hold that, even assuming ar-guendo that the government acted improperly, Mr. Gordon’s Sixth Amendment rights were not violated. The Sixth Amendment provides that “the accused shall enjoy the right ... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” U.S. Const. amend. VI; see Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States, 491 U.S. 617, 624, 109 S.Ct. 2646, 105 L.Ed.2d 528 (1989) (“[T]he Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to be represented by an otherwise qualified attorney whom that defendant can afford to hire.... ”). “This protean right has several manifestations, some familiar, some less familiar.” United States v. Rosen, 487 F.Supp.2d 721, 726 (E.D.Va. 2007). Among these manifestations is the “qualified right to counsel of choice,” which “stems from a defendant’s right to decide what kind of defense he wishes to present.” United States v. Jones, 160 F.3d 641, 646 (10th Cir.1998) (emphasis added) (quoting United States v. Collins, 920 F.2d 619, 625 (10th Cir.1990)) (internal quotation marks omitted). This right may not be “improperly impede[d].” Id. Indeed, the right to select counsel of one’s choice “has been regarded as the root meaning of the constitutional guarantee.” United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. 140, 147-48, 126 S.Ct. 2557, 165 L.Ed.2d 409 (2006). Practical considerations, such as a defendant’s relative wealth or penury, can of course impose constraints on a defendant’s ability to exercise his right to counsel of choice — that is, to hire the attorney that he prefers. A defendant’s ability in this regard also may be limited by the claims of other parties to his resources. One such party may be the government. For instance, with regard to a defendant who is prosecuted by the government for certain crimes and convicted, “[t]he court ... shall order that the person forfeit to the United States any property, real or personal, involved in such offense, or any property traceable to such property.” 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(1). In 2007, before Mr. Gordon was indicted, the government filed caveats on the Delvest lots, and a lis pendens and a caveat on his residential property; it also seized two of his law firm bank accounts. In 2009, the government pursued forfeiture before the grand jury of the residence and the law office accounts. As returned by the grand jury, the indictment did not mention the Delvest lots. Furthermore, the grand jury found that the bank accounts were only substitute assets — in other words, it determined that they were not directly forfeitable. The grand jury did find, however, that Mr. Gordon’s residence was directly forfeitable, to the extent that it was connected to the IPG scheme. The government subsequently filed a Bill of Particulars that not only alleged that the residence was directly forfeitable, but also that the bank accounts were too, notwithstanding the grand jury’s findings. Mr. Gordon later filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the government’s forfeiture conduct violated his constitutional rights, and the district court scheduled a hearing on the issue of forfeiture. However, the case was reassigned to a different judge, who struck all of the scheduling dates, and after ordering a surreply from the government, denied Mr. Gordon’s motion to dismiss. The gravamen of Mr. Gordon’s claim is that the government wrongfully placed common law impediments on his property and thereby prevented him from accessing funds necessary to pay for his counsel of choice, in violation of the Sixth Amendment. As best as we can tell, his argument plays out as follows. First, some of the “restrained” property was not directly forfeitable; rather, it was “substitute” property that was off-limits to the government unless and until he is convicted, per our decision in Jarvis. , Second, even if his property was forfeita-ble, the applicable provisions of the criminal forfeiture statute, 21 U.S.C. § 853, that authorize imposition of pre-indictment impediments on such property, require that interested persons receive pri- or notice and an opportunity to be heard, neither of which supposedly occurred here. These and other instances of unfairness, he contends, infringed upon his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The government’s conduct, he reasons, was deliberately calculated to deny him the right of access to his funds to use for the presentation of a defense. See, e,g., Oral Arg. at 0:58-1:12 (“The convictions in this case should be reversed ... because Ap-pellee orchestrated a calculated scheme to deprive [Mr. Gordon] of the use of his own funds to prepare a viable defense.”). At bottom, then, Mr. Gordon contends that, through its intentional and wrongful circumvention of the proper procedures for imposing pretrial restraints or impediments on his property, the government violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel of choice. In making this argument, Mr. Gordon heavily relies on United States v. Stein, 435 F.Supp.2d 330 (S.D.N.Y.2006). Specifically, he reasons, that like Stein, this case involves a situation where the government’s wrongful con-duet resulted in a total deprivation of his right to counsel of choice. We disagree. Even assuming arguendo that the government acted improperly in imposing pretrial restraints on his property, Mr. Gordon cannot establish that this conduct violated his Sixth Amendment rights. In particular, Mr. Gordon’s attempt to establish a Stem-type violation is unavailing. In Stein, the court considered whether the government’s actions in “interfering] with the ... Defendants’ right to be represented as they choose, subject to the constraints imposed by the resources lawfully available to them,” violated their Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the right to a fair trial. 435 F.Supp.2d at 369; see id. at 360. The court concluded that the government’s conduct in that case— which involved essentially convincing an employer to renege on prior legal-fee agreements with the defendants (its former employees) — violated the defendants’ rights because, among other reasons, the government had directly interfered with resources that the defendants had a fundamental expectation could be used to fund their defense. See id. at 353 (“Absent the [the government’s conduct], [the employer] would have paid the legal fees and expenses of all of its partners and employees both prior to and after indictment, without regard to cost.”); id. at 367-69. On appeal, the Second Circuit affirmed the district court, concluding first that the district court properly considered “pre-in-dictment state action that affected defendants post-indictment,” even though the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches “only upon indictment.” United States v. Stein, 541 F.3d 130, 153 (2d Cir. 2008). More pertinently for this case, the Second Circuit agreed with the district court that the government’s conduct violated the defendants’ right to counsel, insofar as it directly “intrude[d] on the attorney-client relationship.” Id. at 154. However, even if Stein provided an appropriate guidepost in certain cases of governmental interference with the right to counsel of choice, Stein is patently distinguishable from the instant case. First of all, the Stein defendants had demonstrably “limited resources” and had made a showing that their trial strategy was diminished significantly by the government’s conduct. See 435 F.Supp.2d at 371-72. Even though Mr. Gordon’s assets may have been incidentally constricted by the government’s conduct, he has not demonstrated that he was denied access to funds to pay for his defense in any substantial sense; certainly, he has not demonstrated a magnitude of financial deprivation anywhere close to that experienced by the Stein defendants. As the district court found in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment, [c]ontrary to Gordon’s claims of financial hardship, he has paid defense counsel over $900,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs since being indicted. Additionally, the government has submitted a loan application from November 2006, wherein Gordon stated his net worth was over $8.8 million ($8,816,000), including $2.8 million in a CD and $398,000 in cash. Thus, irrespective of his allegations that the Government’s preservation of assets prevented him from hiring counsel of his choice, Gordon has not established he lacks funding to secure defense counsel. R., Vol. X, at 504-05 (Dist. Ct. Order, filed as sealed Feb. 8, 2010) (citation omitted). We agree with the district court that Mr. Gordon has not shown that he “ha[d] no assets, other than those restrained, with which to retain private counsel.” See Jones, 160 F.3d at 647. Mr. Gordon does not meaningfully dispute that he did have other resources to fund his defense, only noting in conclusory fashion that “he did not” have such resources, Aplt. Reply Br. at 14, and that “the Sixth Amendment guarantees him the right to use the assets he has lawfully available,” id. at 14 n. 3. This will not suffice. Furthermore, unlike Stein, it is quite significant that Mr. Gordon’s counsel remained fully and actively engaged in the case throughout the entire trial court proceedings. Indeed, our searching review of the record demonstrates that Mr. Gordon was represented in a thorough and vigorous fashion by the attorney he originally retained. Mr. Gordon’s allegations of prejudice come down to statements in which he suggests that “[preparing the defense to this action would require a team of experienced white collar and securities lawyers” who would have to sort through the thousands of documents prepared during the investigation — i.e., documents in his own war room. Id. at 16 (citation omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted). However, Mr. Gordon does not identify any concrete facts that would explain what was actually done in preparation for his defense and what additional steps his counsel would have taken, if Mr. Gordon had not been denied access to his funds through the government’s allegedly wrongful conduct. In light of the district court’s findings regarding Mr. Gordon’s access to considerable financial resources to pay his counsel, we will not engage in speculative ping-pong about the potential for harm to his defense resulting from the government-initiated restraints on his property' — even assuming that those restrains were improperly imposed. See United States v. Dowie, 411 Fed.Appx. 21, 29 (9th Cir.2010) (refusing to credit a Stem-type argument where the defendant failed to rebut the district court’s findings that he “maintained his counsel of choice throughout the trial, and there was no indication their defense work was limited in any way”); see also Rosen, 487 F.Supp.2d at 735-36 (finding that defendants’ Stem-type argument was “not persuasive” where “the record ... reflected] that defense counsel ... mounted a vigorous and effective defense notwithstanding the absence of [advances of attorney fees that were allegedly stanched by the government’s wrongful interference]”); Olis, 2008 WL 5046342, at *13 (“[The defendant] has failed to present any evidence showing either that he lacked funds needed to mount the defense of his choosing or that the defense presented at his trial was anything other than the defense he chose to present and would have presented [absent interference].”). In sum, we conclude that Mr. Gordon has not established a deprivation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel of choice. B. Sufficiency of the Evidence Mr. Gordon challenges the sufficiency of the evidence as to all of the substantive counts relating to the scheme to defraud with respect to the promotional campaigns for National Storm, Deep Rock, and Global Beverage. In addition, he challenges the counts that are predicated on the allegedly fraudulent nature of the opinion letters permitting restriction-free designations on some of the stocks at issue — specifically, the stock of National Storm, Deep Rock, and IPG. Finally, he claims that the evidence is insufficient to show that he obstructed, or attempted to obstruct, an official proceeding. “In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence and denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal, this court reviews the record de novo to determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, any rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Irvin, 682 F.3d 1254, 1266 (10th Cir.2012). In conducting this inquiry, the court may “not ‘weigh conflicting evidence.’ ” Id. (quoting United States v. Evans, 318 F.3d 1011, 1018 (10th Cir. 2003)). Moreover, the “court considers the entire record, including both direct and circumstantial evidence, together with the reasonable inferences to be drawn from it.” United States v. Mendez, 514 F.3d 1035, 1041 (10th Cir.2008). 1. The scheme to defraud Mr. Gordon makes various arguments that challenge the sufficiency of the government’s evidence regarding the counts associated with the charged scheme to defraud. First, without identifying the specific legal shortcomings of any particular count, he makes a global argument that “the fax blasts, e-mails and the brochures were [not] illegal,” Aplt. Opening Br. at 33, for the National Storm, Deep Rock and Global Beverage promotions under § 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. § 77q(b), “which makes it unlawful to publicize a stock for consideration from an issuer, underwriter, or dealer without disclosing the fact and amount of the payment,” United States v. Wenger, 427 F.3d 840, 843 (10th Cir.2005). Citing our articulation of § 17(b)’s requirements in Wen-ger, see id. at 852, Mr. Gordon contends that the faxes, e-mails, magalogs, etc., in this case required only a disclosure that the promoter received payment for the advertisement, and disclosure of the amount of the payment. He submits that all of the promotional material at issue contained such information and, contrary to the government’s arguments, it did not need to include the “name” of the promoters or whether the promoter was buying or selling the stock. See Aplt. Opening Br. at 31 (discussing evidence showing that “Pink Sheets wanted the SEC to include more requirements in such advertisements, such as identification of the promoters,” but as of the time of Mr. Gordon’s criminal conduct, no such requirements existed). However, as the government correctly notes, Mr. Gordon was not charged with violating § 17(b). Instead, as relevant here, he was charged under the general wire fraud statute, see 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and § 10b of the Securities Act of 1934, and the applicable rule promulgated thereunder, 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5 (“Rule 10b-5”), for “unlawful[ly] ... employing], in connection with the purchase or sale of any security ... [a] manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance,” 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b). Mr. Gordon has failed to explain how technical compliance with § 17(b) would provide an effective safe harbor or immunity from prosecution for the manipulation of stock with the intent to defraud investors, which ordinarily would give rise to violations of the wire fraud statute and Rule 10b-5. Cf. Wenger, 427 F.3d at 852-54 (analyzing separate charges arising out of the same fraudulent scheme under § 17(b) and § 10(b), because “the government presented sufficient evidence to convince a reasonable jury beyond a reasonable doubt that [the defendant] had intent to defraud”). In other words, he offers no legal support for his global argument on appeal; consequently, we reject it. Even so, Mr. Gordon contends that with respect to the allegations related to Rule 10b-5, there can be “no liability ... for failure to disclose information absent a duty to do so.” Aplt. Opening Br. at 32. Thus, as Mr. Gordon reasons, to the extent that the government’s allegations concern the non-disclosure of certain information in the promotional materials such as, for instance, the true identity of the source of the material&emdash;viz., the members of the underlying conspiracy&emdash;they are legally insufficient because there was no independent duty to disclose such information in this case, either by him or his co-conspirators. In essence, Mr. Gordon challenges whether the government showed, beyond a reasonable doubt, that there were actionable misstatements or omissions, as well as a fraudulent intent to deceive investors. In support of this assertion, Mr. Gordon cites United States v. Schiff, 602 F.3d 152 (3d Cir.2010), a Third Circuit case that affirmed the dismissal of multiple Rule 10b-5 charges upon the theory that a corporate executive had an affirmative fiduciary duty to correct material misstatements made by another executive. In concluding that the government’s theory was too broad, the court in Schiff pointed out that § 10b gives rise to a duty to disclose in three separate and distinct circumstances: (1) where there is insider trading, (2) where a statute requires disclosure, or (3) where there has been an “inaccurate, incomplete or misleading prior disclosure.” 602 F.3d at 162 (quoting Oran v. Stafford, 226 F.3d 275, 285-86 (3d Cir.2000)) (internal quotation marks omitted). However, despite the holding in Schiff, “where a party without a duty elects to disclose material facts, he must speak fully and truthfully, and provide complete and non-misleading information.” Curshen, 372 Fed.Appx. at 880 (emphasis added); see also Schiff, 602 F.3d at 162 (“When you speak, however, and it is material, you are ‘bound to speak truthfully.’ ” (quoting Shapiro v. UJB Fin. Corp., 964 F.2d 272, 282 (3d Cir.1992))); Thomas Lee Hazen, The Law of Securities Regulation § 12.9[10], at 471-72 (6th ed. 2009) (“[O]nce a statement of fact ... has been made, the person making the statement is then under a duty to correct any misstatements.... ”). In this case, the government offered substantial evidence that many aspects of the information disseminated in the promotional campaigns were false and misleading, and that misleading statements went uncorrected by numerous material omissions. See, e.g., R., Vol. VIII, at 3045^16 (noting that, despite an advertisement representing that “Wall Street expectations” were good for National Storm, the statement was incorrect and was made “to make it appear as though Wall Street was covering it and that the stock was going to rise because of it”); id. at 3049-50 (noting a fax blast’s assertion that “Putnam International Consulting,” was the source of payment for a particular fax blast, was false because the blast “was paid for out of ... Gordon’s attorney trust account [by him and other members of the conspiracy]” and they “had control over more than 10 percent of the company making [them] affiliates”); id. at 3085 (discussing language in one of the e-mail blasts encouraging investors to refer to the SEC’s website for information seemingly related to National Storm, when certain conspirators knew that the company was, in fact, not registered with the SEC in light of its Pink Sheet status); id. at 3145-48 (describing a similarly misleading fax blast campaign with respect to Deep Rock, and noting that a statement representing that non-affiliated shareholders paid the fee for advertisements was false because, inter alia, Mr. Gordon “controlled the float”); id. at 214-15 (noting that, like in prior blasts, Mr. Sheptycki “made up” information on the identity of the source of a Global Beverage blast and projected growth numbers). Significantly, the evidence also tended to establish that there was a group of shareholders (of which Mr. Gordon was a part) who disguised their stake in the applicable stocks by using nominee accounts, and who fraudulently manipulated the price in order to make a profit, all at the expense of the general shareholders. See, e.g., id. at 3139^40 (noting that the “plan” as to Deep Rock “was to start the stock at four or five cents and gradually walk it up before the promotional effort started” and that the priming was “substantially ... controlled”). On this record, we conclude that any rational trier of fact could have found that Mr. Gordon’s conduct was fraudulent within the meaning of the securities laws. See, e.g., United States v. Ware, 577 F.3d 442, 448 (2d Cir.2009) (concluding that the evidence was sufficient to convict the defendant of securities fraud in a “pump-and-dump” scheme where he sent out press releases — regarding a company in which he owned millions of shares — that “fabricated ... [the] sources of [the] factual information” in the press releases and failed to disclose the true sources of the funds allowing for release of the press releases); Wenger, 427 F.3d at 854 (holding that there was sufficient evidence of fraud under § 10b, where the defendant sent out newsletters advising investors to buy a stock, which “at the same time” he was selling); cf. Stoneridge Inv. Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., 552 U.S. 148, 158, 128 S.Ct. 761, 169 L.Ed.2d 627 (2008) (“Manipulative trading practices ... are deceptive within the meaning of the rule.”); Santa Fe Indus., Inc. v. Green, 430 U.S. 462, 476, 97 S.Ct. 1292, 51 L.Ed.2d 480 (1977) (noting that “manipulation,” as used in this context, “refers generally to practices, such as wash sales, matched orders, or rigged prices, that are intended to mislead investors by artificially affecting market activity ” (emphasis added)); Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder, 425 U.S. 185, 199, 96 S.Ct. 1375, 47 L.Ed.2d 668 (1976) (suggesting that manipulative conduct “connotes intentional or willful conduct designed to deceive or defraud investors by controlling or artificially affecting the price of securities”); Wilson v. Merrill Lynch & Co., 671 F.3d 120, 130 (2d Cir.2011) (“In order for market activity to be manipulative, that conduct must involve misrepresentation or nondisclosure.”). Therefore, insofar as it is predicated upon the assertion that there was no evidence of actionable false and material statements or omissions made with respect to the promotional campaigns, with a fraudulent intent, Mr. Gordon’s sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge is wholly without merit. Finally, the government charged Mr. Gordon with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, on the grounds that he falsely denied knowledge of the Deep Rock fax promotion to an SEC official (Count 22). See R., Vol. I, at 75. Mr. Gordon challenges his conviction under § 1001 on the grounds that “[i]f the fax blasts were legal, then whatever [he] told [SEC investigators] about them would not have been material.” Aplt. Opening Br. at 38. However, in light of the foregoing discussion, Mr. Gordon’s argument must fail because the promotional campaigns (including the fax blasts) were not legal. In any event, to establish “materiality” under § 1001, the government had to show that the statement had “a natural tendency to influence, or [be] capable of influencing, the decision of the decisionmaking body to which it was addressed.” United States v. Gaudin, 515 U.S. 506, 509, 115 S.Ct. 2310, 132 L.Ed.2d 444 (1995) (alteration in original) (quoting Kungys v. United States, 485 U.S. 759, 770, 108 S.Ct. 1537, 99 L.Ed.2d 839 (1988)) (internal quotation marks omitted). Here, a rational trier of fact could have concluded that Mr. Gordon’s statement denying any knowledge of the Deep Rock fax promotions satisfied this understanding of “materiality” because Deep Rock was one target in the SEC’s investigation, and a false statement by Deep Rock’s attorney that he had no knowledge of a promotional campaign — which, at that time, was potentially illegal — could have influenced the agency’s decision on how to craft its investigative focus. See id. at 522-23, 115 S.Ct. 2310 (noting that “the jury [must be allowed] to pass on the ‘materiality’ of [the defendant’s] false statements”). In other words, any rational trier of fact could have concluded that Mr. Gordon’s denial was capable of influencing the SEC’s investigation of the underlying scheme. See R., Vol. VIII, at 1777 (Investigator Draddy responding, “Absolutely” to the question, “Was the information about fax promotions for Deep Rock relevant [and important] to the SEC’s investigation?”); see also United States v. Oldbear, 568 F.3d 814, 825 (10th Cir.2009) (holding that a false statement made to an FBI agent that the defendant had “no information” regarding the matter under investigation was “material” under § 1001(a)(2) because the statement related to one of the issues that was important to the underlying investigation). For that reason, Mr. Gordon’s challenge to Count 22 also must fail. 2. Legality of the opinion letters Mr. Gordon also lodges a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence with respect to the allegations that he prepared or endorsed “false” opinion letters for Deep Rock, National Storm, and IPG. According to Mr. Gordon, Robert Bertsch never appeared to testify that the two opinion letters he wrote [for Ednet, the company IPG had merged with, and National Storm] were forgeries or that the companies he wrote about had not been formed at least two years earlier or that he had not determined that the shareholders listed in the opinion letters had not obtained their stock as Rule 144 required. Similarly, the opinion letter written by [Mr. Gordon] involved a company, Deep Rock, whose stock, the testimony established, had been distributed to numerous parties, many in the Clark family [and could thus be transferrable through “tacking”], more than a decade before. There was no evidence [Mr. Gordon] knew that any shares of stock ultimately traded as a result of his opinion letter should not have done so or that the opinion letter failed to qualify for the Rule 144 exemption. Aplt. Opening Br. at 34. These assertions, however, are refuted by the record. There was ample evidence for a rational jury to determine that the information in the opinion letters was false, and that Mr. Gordon knew it. In fact, there was evidence that he laid the groundwork for many of the false representations. See, e.g., R„ Vol. VIII, at 1493 (“[Mr. Gordon] told me that I should go talk to a couple of my friends, offer them money, a thousand dollars a piece or something in that range, and ask them to do me a favor to say they were shareholders of the company.”); id. at 1303-07 (Trial Test. of Donald Clark, dated Apr. 13, 2010) (referencing a transfer document issued by Mr. Gordon’s law office that purported to establish that Mr. Clark (as a shareholder-seller) had acquired Deep Rock shares “more than two years prior” despite the fact that Mr. Clark had never advised Mr. Gordon or anyone in his law office to this effect (internal quotation marks omitted)); id. at 1495 (stating that share transfer documents “were backdated to show that the shareholders owned the stock longer than they actually did, so upon becoming a public company those shares would be freely tradable to sell in the market”); id. at 1279 (Trial Test. of Tom Klenda, dated Apr. 13, 2010) (noting that, despite the fact that he was listed as trustee for a trust that owned 2,000,000 shares of Deep Rock stock, which Mr. Gordon indicated that he wanted to transfer in a Rule 144 opinion letter, he “was not involved in [the] transaction [that referenced him and] had no knowledge [of it]”). Consequently, Mr. Gordon’s sufficiency-of-the-evidence argument with respect to the National Storm and Deep Rock opinion letters is meritless. Mr. Gordon, under Proposition Four, also argues that the government’s evidence regarding the IPG transaction was insufficient, and thus, “there is no wire fraud [as to Count 23].” Aplt. Opening Br. at 40. Specifically, he claims that the witness testimony established that the opinion letter prepared for- IPG — along with backdated corporate documents that Mark White signed — was accurate, and that backdating corporate documents to bolster the letter was not illegal in this context. “Conviction for wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 requires (1) a scheme or artifice to defraud or obtain property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, (2) an intent to defraud, and (3) use of interstate wire or radio communications to execute the scheme.” United States v. Ransom, 642 F.3d 1285, 1289 (10th Cir.2011) (footnote omitted) (quoting United States v. Gallant, 537 F.3d 1202, 1228 (10th Cir.2008)) (internal quotation marks omitted); accord United States v. Cooper, 654 F.3d 1104, 1116 (10th Cir.2011). Mr. Gordon does not suggest that a false opinion letter fabricated in order to facilitate the free trading of IPG shares would not constitute a scheme or artifice to defraud or obtain property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises; rather, his argument attacks the factual predicate— viz., he contends that there was no evidence that the IPG opinion letter actually was false or that it failed to meet the requirements of Rule 144. Even assuming, as a general proposition, that backdating corporate documents is not necessarily illegal, see generally United States v. Reyes, 577 F.3d 1069, 1073 (9th Cir.2009) (“Backdating is not itself illegal....”), the opinion letter that served as the basis for Count 23 in this case relied on more than mere backdated corporate records; it falsely represented that the shareholders had advised Mr. Bertsch’s office that the relevant shares of Ednet — the company with which IPG was merged — had been acquired in accordance with the requirements of Rule 144. For instance, the letter at the outset notes that the drafter “ha[d] been advised by [the shareholders] ... that a sale will occur of 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock.” Aplt. Addendum, ex. 19, at 1 (Letter from Robert Bertsch to Routh Stock Transfer, Inc., dated Sept. 17, 2004) (emphasis added). Further, on the second page, it notes that “we are advised that the Shares were deemed to be acquired by the Seller more than two years prior to the sale.” Id. at 2 (emphasis added). Neither of these assertions was true. Given the reference to the shareholders actually providing the “advice” regarding their holding status, it is not surprising that the transfer agent was misled into issuing the non-restrictive legends for IPG. See R., Vol. VIII, at 1034-35 (Trial Test, of Jason Freeman, dated Apr. 12, 2010) (testifying that he relied on the representations made in the IPG opinion letter in order to “issue free-trading shares”). We are obliged when reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to give the government the “reasonable inferences to be drawn from it.” Mendez, 514 F.3d at 1041. And here, the government offered evidence that Mr. Gordon intended to mislead by creating this letter and directing Mr. Bertsch to sign it. See R., Vol. VIII, at 1604 (answering, ‘Tes. It came from his office,” when asked, “Did Mr. Gordon have an understanding this was a false document when he sent it to you?”); id. (noting that Mr. Bertsch “sign[ed] a false opinion letter” in order to “complete the transaction”). Any rational trier of fact could have found the misrepresentations to be false and fraudulent. Cf. Cooper, 654 F.3d at 1118-19 (concluding that the evidence was sufficient to sustain a wire fraud conviction where the government presented evidence at trial that the defendant transmitted false information by wire to induce individuals to continue to participate in a pyramid scheme). In sum, Mr. Gordon’s challenge to his conviction of Count 23 is without merit. 3. Attempted Obstruction of an Official Proceeding Mr. Gordon also challenges Count 24, which charged him with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) — that is, with corruptly obstructing, impeding, or influencing, or attempting to do so, an official proceeding. This charge was based upon the government’s contention that Mr. Gordon directed Mr. Singer to “sign a backdated agreement purporting to memorialize a sale of [IPG] stock that never took place,” Aplee. Br. at 27, and that Mr. Gordon actually created such a false document, with Mr. Singer’s help. The government argued that Mr. Gordon intended to present the document in the government-initiated civil forfeiture proceeding, in order to prevent forfeiture of his home. As we noted in Part I, supra, Mr. Singer gradually sold IPG shares on Mr. Gordon’s behalf, and at one point in November 2005, wire-transferred roughly $1.7 million of the proceeds to “pay off the mortgage on [Mr. Gordon’s] house.” R., Vol. VIII, at 1610. This allegedly fraudulent IPG-related conduct was the predicate for the government’s forfeiture action regarding Mr. Gordon’s house. According to Mr. Singer, around December 2007, Mr. Gordon directed him to endorse a false, backdated document that purported to memorialize a sale of IPG stock between Mr. Gordon and Mr. Singer. This sale supposedly took place in October 2005 — prior to the November 2005 wire transfer — and the documents evinced a purchase price of approximately $1.9 million, an amount that somewhat exceeded, but was similar to, the wire-transfer amount of $1.7 million. Mr. Singer testified that, at Mr. Gordon’s request, he returned to Mr. Gordon a signed copy of the purported agreement and a blank copy. Mr. Singer identified for the jury a record of a contemporaneous electronic communication from Mr. Gordon in which he informed Mr. Singer that he was “going to go w/unsigned version and let them no [sic] that the original [was] lost but this was the agreement.” R., Vol. VIII, at 1665 (internal quotation marks omitted). It is undisputed that the jury never heard evidence relative to whether Mr. Gordon ever presented either the signed or blank version of the purported purchase agreement to the government or in an official proceeding. Mr. Singer confirmed, however, that “there was no original” agreement and that “[t]he only thing that happened prior [i.e., in 2005] was [his] selling [IPG] stock” and transferring sales proceeds to Mr. Gordon. Id. at 1666; see id. at 1610 (answering, with respect to the $1.7 million dollar wire transfer to Mr. Gordon, in response to the government’s question, “Were those also the proceeds of the sale from the [IPG] stock?,” “That’s correct”). “Under § 1512(c)(2), any person who ‘corruptly ... obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years or both.’ ” United States v. Phillips, 583 F.3d 1261, 1263 (10th Cir.2009) (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2)); accord United States v. Ahrensfield, 698 F.3d 1310, 1324 (10th Cir.2012). Under this provision, “a defendant must act with the intent that his actions will influence a[n applicable] proceeding.” Phillips, 583 F.3d at 1263. Mr. Gordon essentially makes two arguments. First, he argues that “[t]he testimony never established that any ‘official proceeding’ was set or even contemplated during this time ... [because the] in rem action against [the] residence ... [was] stayed” in November 2007 and remained so at the time the alleged “obstruction” occurred, and the product of the alleged acts was intended to be presented to government lawyers, not the court. Aplt. Reply Br. at 23. Second, he suggests that the evidence simply did not show that he is guilty under § 1512(c)(2). “[0]fficial proceeding” in this context is defined as, inter alia, “a proceeding before a judge or court of the United States.” 18 U.S.C. § 1515(a)(1)(A). Mr. Gordon claims that the government’s evidence only-showed that he wanted the fabricated share-purchase agreement for his records when he was meeting with the government regarding the forfeiture of his house and that, during the period in which he allegedly sought fabrication of the purchase agreement, the government-initiated civil forfeiture proceedings were technically stayed. These facts, he suggests, caused any proceeding to lose its character as “official.” These argument do not move beyond the threshold, however. In particular, we conclude that they are waived— specifically, his arguments aimed at showing that a stayed proceeding cannot constitute an “official proceeding” for purposes of § 1512(c)(2), and that “[a]n ad hoc meeting between lawyers,” Aplt. Reply Br. at 23, similarly cannot constitute an official proceeding, such that the presentation of fraudulent documents in such a meeting could be deemed criminally actionable conduct. Mr. Gordon did not specifically present these arguments in his opening brief; rather, he attempts to formulate them for the first time in his reply brief. It is well settled that “[t]his court does not ordinarily review issues raised for the first time in a reply brief.” Stump v. Gates, 211 F.3d 527, 533 (10th Cir.2000). Even then, the arguments are presented in a perfunctory and conclusory fashion, and we are rightly hesitant to definitively opine on such legally significant issues when they have received such cursory treatment. See, e.g., Cooper, 654 F.3d at 1128 (“It is well-settled that ‘[arguments inadequately briefed in the opening brief are waived.’ ” (alteration in original) (quoting Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 679 (10th Cir.1998))). Consequently, to the extent that Mr. Gordon purports to raise these arguments as a separate basis for error, we conclude that they are waived. Second, Mr. Gordon appears to contest whether the evidence actually showed that the creation of the false purchase agreement constituted an “obstruction,” where there was no evidence before the jury that the document was actually given to a government official or to the court. However, in addition to its substantive provisions, § 1512(c)(2) also includes an attempt provision — authorizing conviction of an individual who “corruptly ... attempts [to obstruct or impede]” an official proceeding, 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) (emphasis added)— and Mr. Gordon was charged in Count 24 both with the substantive offense and with the inchoate crime of attempt. Therefore, in assessing the sufficiency of the evidence regarding Count 24, we are free to focus on whether any rational finder of fact could have found Mr. Gordon guilty of the attempt offense (as opposed to the substantive offense), and we elect to do so. “An attempt [generally] requires both (1) an ‘intent to commit the substantive offense,’ and (2) the ‘commission of an act which constitutes a substantial step towards commission of the substantive offense.’ ” United States v. Washington (Deandre Washington), 653 F.3d 1251, 1264 (10th Cir.2011) (quoting United States v. Vigil, 523 F.3d 1258, 1267 (10th Cir.2008)); accord United States v. Irving, 665 F.3d 1184, 1195 (10th Cir.2011). “A substantial step must be something more than mere preparation, yet may be less than the last act necessary before the actual commission of the substantive crime.” United States v. Fleming, 667 F.3d 1098, 1107 (10th Cir.2011) (quoting Deandre Washington, 653 F.3d at 1264) (internal quotation marks omitted). “T