Is insufficient evidence sufficient to overturn a jury's verdict?

Although we review a claim of insufficient evidence de novo, a defendant

[655 F.3d 120]

challenging his verdict on sufficiency grounds bears a heavy burden. We must uphold the jury's verdict if we find that any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Hardwick, 523 F.3d 94, 100 (2d Cir.2008) (internal quotation marks and alteration omitted) (emphasis in original). We view the evidence, whether direct or circumstantial, in the light most favorable to the government and may not substitute our own determinations of credibility or relative weight of the evidence for that of the jury. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

[655 F.3d 120]