United States v. Gary Sembler

180 F. App'x 611

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: May 11, 2006
• Docket: 05-2234
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

[UNPUBLISHED]

PER CURIAM.

Gary Sembler appeals the sentence the district court 1 imposed after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States, see 18 U.S.C. § 286, and presenting false claims against the United States, see 18 U.S.C. § 287. On appeal, counsel has moved to withdraw and filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), noting Sembler’s belief that he should have been sentenced as a minor participant.

We conclude that it was not clear error for the district court to deny a minor-role reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 upon finding that the conspiracy could not have taken place without Sembler’s involvement. See United States v. Casares-Cardenas, 14 F.3d 1283, 1289 (8th Cir.) (decision whether to accord minor-role status is factual finding reviewed for clear error; denial of minor-role reduction was not clear error where defendant’s role was “integral to the advancement of the purpose of the conspiracy”), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 849, 115 S.Ct. 147, 130 L.Ed.2d 86 (1994).

Having reviewed the record independently under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), we find no other nonfrivolous issues. Accordingly, we affirm, and we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw.

1 . The Honorable Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr., United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.