Thompson v. People

Summary

The court adopted the family resemblance test for determining whether a note is a security under the Colorado Securities Act and held that Thompson’s promissory note qualified because the transaction was motivated by business financing and investor profit, involved a speculative venture, was presented as an investment, and was not materially de-risked by the purported collateral. The court also held that any error in instructing the jury that a security includes any note was not plain because Thompson did not contest that issue at trial and the error was not substantial. Finally, it held that consecutive sentences were permissible because distinct evidence supported the securities-fraud and theft convictions.