Davis v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco

139 F.4th 744
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJune 2, 2025
Docket24-3090
StatusPublished

This text of 139 F.4th 744 (Davis v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davis v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco, 139 F.4th 744 (9th Cir. 2025).

Opinion

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

In re: JOSHUA DAVIS No. 24-3090 ____________________ D.C. Nos. 3:19-cr-00040- WHO JOSHUA DAVIS, 3:19-cr-00676- WHO Petitioner.

v. OPINION UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO,

Respondent.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; AHMAD WAGAAFE HARED; MATTHEW GENE DITMAN; ANTHONY FRANCIS FAULK,

Real Parties in Interest. 2 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF

In re: N.A. ____________________ No. 24-3092

D.C. Nos. N. A., 3:19-cr-00040- WHO Petitioner, 3:10-cr-00676- WHO v.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO,

Respondent,

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; AHMAD WAGAAFE HARED; MATTHEW GENE DITMAN; ANTHONY FRANCIS FAULK,

Real Parties in Interest.

Petition for Writ of Mandamus

Argued and Submitted October 10, 2024 San Francisco, California

Filed June 2, 2025 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 3

Before: Lucy H. Koh and Anthony D. Johnstone, Circuit Judges, and Michael H. Simon, District Judge.*

Opinion by Judge Koh; Concurrence by Judge Johnstone

SUMMARY**

Restitution

Petitioners, Joshua Davis and N.A., were the victims of cryptocurrency theft and extortion. Petitioners promptly notified the government of the theft and extortion, filed petitions for “remission” of the lost cryptocurrency with the government, and participated in the criminal investigation. Due to a series of communication errors between the government agencies responsible for calculating restitution, however, the government submitted restitution amounts to the district court that did not account for the full value of Petitioners’ stolen cryptocurrency. After discovering that the district court entered the incorrect amounts in the restitution orders, Petitioners attempted to correct the restitution orders through the procedures set forth in the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5), and the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3).

* The Honorable Michael H. Simon, United States District Judge for the District of Oregon, sitting by designation. ** This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. 4 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF

The panel granted two petitions for writs of mandamus brought under the CVRA, § 3771(d)(3), and remanded for further consideration in the district court as to whether Petitioners met the requirements to reopen restitution proceedings set forth in the MVRA, § 3664(d)(5). The panel held that Petitioners were entitled to seek mandamus relief through the CVRA’s mandamus procedure in § 3771(d)(3). The panel determined that § 3771(d)(3), which allows the assertion of a crime victims’ rights when “no prosecution is underway,” permits the assertion of rights under the MVRA, § 3664(d)(5), during the period after judgment is entered. The panel then determined that post-judgment petitions to reopen restitution brought under the MVRA, § 3664(d)(5), qualify as “any motion asserting a victim’s right” under § 3771(d)(3). Petitioners were therefore entitled to bring a mandamus petition before the court of appeals pursuant to the CVRA, § 3771(d)(3). The panel further held that the limitations on motions to re-open a sentence set forth in the CVRA, § 3771(d)(5), do not apply to petitions to reopen restitution brought under § 3664(d)(5). Finally, the panel granted the petitions for writs of mandamus because the panel concluded that the MVRA, § 3664(d)(5) allows crime victims to petition to reopen restitution when, as here, a victim “subsequently discovers” that a district court’s restitution order failed to include recoverable losses. The panel remanded to the district court to consider whether Petitioners met the additional good cause and timing requirements set forth in the MVRA, § 3664(d)(5). Concurring in full in the majority opinion, Judge Johnstone wrote separately to note that the majority opinion primarily addresses a victim’s ability to seek amendment of restitution orders under § 3664(d)(5) of the MVRA. Judge Johnstone wrote that the majority opinion considered DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 5

§ 3771(d)(3) as the source of the court’s mandamus authority to correct the district court’s denial of relief under § 3664(d)(5), and considered the limitations in § 3771(d)(5) to explain that those limitations do not apply to motions brought under § 3664(d)(5).

COUNSEL

Elisha J. Kobre (argued) and Stephen K. Moulton, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, Dallas, Texas; N.A. (argued), Pro Se; Paul G. Cassell, Utah Appellate Project, S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; for Petitioners. Merry J. Chan (argued), Chief, Appellate Section, Criminal Division; Robert S. Leach, Assistant United States Attorney; Ismail J. Ramsey, United States Attorney; Office of the United States Attorney, United States Department of Justice, San Francisco, California; for Real Party in Interest. Carmen A. Smarandoiu (argued) and Angela Chuang, Assistant Federal Public Defenders; Jodi Linker, Federal Public Defender; Federal Public Defenders Office, San Francisco, California; for Real Party in Interest. Gail Shifman, Law Office of Gail Shifman, San Francisco, California, for Real Party in Interest. Jennifer J. Wirsching, Law Office of Jennifer Wirsching, Burbank, California, for Real Party in Interest. 6 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF

OPINION

KOH, Circuit Judge:

These related petitions stem from a cryptocurrency theft and extortion scheme. Joshua Davis (“Davis”) and N.A. (collectively, “Petitioners”) each petition for a writ of mandamus ordering the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to correct erroneous restitution orders arising from three criminal defendants’ theft of Petitioners’ cryptocurrency. The United States of America (the “government”) as well as Ahmad Wagaafe Hared (“Hared”), Matthew Gene Ditman (“Ditman”), and Anthony Francis Faulk (“Faulk”) (collectively, “the defendants”) are real parties in interest in this proceeding. This dispute centers on a procedural question: whether a mechanism exists for Petitioners to assert their right to full restitution after the court has entered judgment. We conclude that the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5), provides a procedural mechanism for relief under these circumstances, and that the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3), permits us to review the district court’s denial of such relief on petition for a writ of mandamus. Because the district court ordered incorrect restitution amounts and erred in denying Petitioners’ motions to reopen, we grant the petitions for a writ of mandamus and remand these matters to the district court for further consideration in accordance with this opinion. DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 7

BACKGROUND I. Factual Background A. The defendants stole cryptocurrency and extorted Davis. Petitioners were victims in a cryptocurrency theft and extortion scheme. In 2014, Davis and his friend N.A. invested in a new cryptocurrency, known as Ether.1 Davis handled the transactions, purchasing Ether for himself and on behalf of N.A.. Davis then emailed instructions to N.A., explaining how to access the Ether in N.A.’s digital account.

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Bluebook (online)
139 F.4th 744, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-united-states-district-court-for-the-northern-district-of-ca9-2025.