United States v. Bean

859 F. Supp. 330, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10889, 1994 WL 409707
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedJuly 21, 1994
DocketNo. 1:92-CR-31
StatusPublished

This text of 859 F. Supp. 330 (United States v. Bean) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Bean, 859 F. Supp. 330, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10889, 1994 WL 409707 (N.D. Ind. 1994).

Opinion

ORDER

WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on defendant’s and the governments’s objections to the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) prepared by the United States Probation Office following the remand of this case from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals for resentencing. See, United States v. Bean, 18 F.3d 1367 (7th Cir.1994).

DISCUSSION

A complete recitation of the facts applicable to this case is unnecessary as they have been adequately addressed by the Seventh Circuit and by this court in its prior orders relating to this matter. The court shall develop the facts as necessary when discussing a particular objection.

Acceptance of Responsibility

Defendant argues that he should receive a two (2) level decrease in his sentence for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3El.l(a) as he voluntarily paid restitution to the victim, Lincoln National Bank, before he was found guilty of bank fraud pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1344. Not surprisingly, the government argues that defendant should not receive a decrease in the calculation of his sentence for acceptance of responsibility. The government correctly points out that defendant has never acknowledged that he had the requisite intent necessary to commit bank fraud. Defendant maintains that he did nothing wrong. Also, the government argues that because this is defendant’s third conviction for fraud defendant has demonstrated a pattern of fraudulent conduct, and thus, should not receive any decrease in his sentence for acceptance of responsibility.

U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1 provides the authority for the sentencing court to award a decrease to a defendant’s sentence for acceptance of responsibility and states in pertinent part:

If the defendant clearly demonstrates acceptance of responsibility for his offense, decrease the offense level by 2 levels.

U.S.S.G. § 3El.l(a).

In determining whether a defendant qualifies under subsection (a), appropriate considerations include, but are not limited to, the following:
voluntary payment of restitution prior to adjudication of guilt.

U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, comment. (n.l(c)).

Thus, the guidelines are structured in such a way that the trial court may decrease a defendant’s sentence for payment of restitution prior to his adjudication of guilt without requiring the defendant to admit to any wrongdoing. See, United States v. Bean, 18 F.3d 1367, 1368-69 (7th Cir.1994).

In this case, although defendant has never admitted to any wrongdoing, defendant voluntarily paid restitution prior to his adjudication of guilt. Therefore, the court decreases defendant’s sentence by two levels for acceptance of responsibility. Id. at 1368 (“Bean repaid the bank before the adjudication of guilt, and the district court therefore was entitled to award a reduction for acceptance of responsibility even though Bean denied guilt.”).

Criminal History Points

The government argues that defendant should receive two (2) additional points, instead of one (1) additional point, for his criminal history pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3. The government asserts that an upward departure is warranted because defendant’s criminal history is not adequately represented by the increase of only one (1) point for his criminal history. Specifically, the government points out that this is defendant’s third conviction for a fraud related [332]*332offense and defendant has therefore demonstrated a need for greater sanctions to deter him from committing the same crime again. See, United States v. Panadero, 7 F.3d 691, 697 (7th Cir.1993). Defendant argues there are no circumstances warranting an upward departure as all of the factors have been adequately addressed within the guidelines.

The PSR indicates that defendant has a prior federal conviction for bank fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1344, and a prior federal conviction for wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The two (2) convictions rely upon totally unrelated facts. However, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1, the convictions are considered “related” for sentence guideline calculation purposes because they were consolidated and defendant was sentenced for both of these offenses on April 14, 1989, in United States District Court before the Honorable James T. Moody. Thus, the U.S. Probation Department correctly increased defendant’s sentence by one (1) point.

Pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3, the trial court may depart upwards from the applicable guideline range if the court finds the defendant’s criminal history underrepresented by the defendant’s criminal history category. U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3 provides in pertinent part:

If reliable information indicates that the criminal history category does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the defendant’s past criminal conduct or the likelihood that the defendant will commit other crimes, the court may consider imposing a sentence departing from the otherwise applicable guideline range.

The court is not persuaded that defendant’s criminal history category is so inadequate as to improperly represent defendant’s past criminal activity. Of course, the court acknowledges the proposition that a defendant may require greater sanctions to deter him from committing the same crime again, United States v. Panadero, 7 F.3d 691, 697 (7th Cir.1993), but does not feel that the facts of this case warrant a departure for that purpose. The facts of Panadero are distinguishable from the facts of the instant case. Most important is the fact that the defendant in Panadero depended on criminal activity for her livelihood. No such allegation has been made in the instant case. Therefore, the court declines to depart upward and assess an additional point against defendant for his criminal history.

Amount of Loss

The government argues that the amount of loss sustained by the victim, Lincoln National Bank, for guideline calculation purposes is $75,000.00. In support of its position, the government draws the court’s attention to the amount of the insufficient fund check (NSF) defendant deposited in Lincoln National Bank drawn on defendant’s account at Summit Bank; $75,000.00. The government also indicates that defendant made restitution to Lincoln National Bank in the amount of $75,000.00. Finally, the government cites United States v. Strozier, 981 F.2d 281, 284 (7th Cir.1992) which states that “loss” may be the amount a defendant “intended” to cause.

Defendant asserts that the amount of loss in this case is $63,940.35.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
859 F. Supp. 330, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10889, 1994 WL 409707, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-bean-innd-1994.