United States v. Long

37 F. App'x 718
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMarch 11, 2002
DocketNos. 01-5393, 01-5497
StatusPublished

This text of 37 F. App'x 718 (United States v. Long) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Long, 37 F. App'x 718 (6th Cir. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

GILMAN, Circuit Judge.

Marie B. Long and her sister, Inez Jean Seals, were indicted on multiple counts of mail fraud, health care fraud, and various money laundering offenses. They each pled guilty to one count of health care fraud and one count of money laundering. The district court then sentenced Long to 30 months and Seals to 32 months in prison, in addition to ordering special assessments, restitution, and terms of supervised release. Both defendants now appeal, claiming that the district court erred in sentencing them pursuant to the money laundering guidelines and in not granting their various motions for downward departures. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual background

Between 1991 and 1998, the defendants applied for numerous hospital indemnity insurance policies. The type of policy in question pays a fixed-dollar benefit directly to the insured for each day that the insured spends in the hospital. On their insurance application forms, the defendants provided false information about their health history and the extent to which they were covered by other insurers.

.After the defendants obtained the hospital indemnity insurance policies, they filed numerous fraudulent claims for compensation, including false representations about their health history and the absence of other insurance coverage. Overall, Long and Seals defrauded various insurance companies of $308,300.63 and $831,471.69, respectively.

B. Procedural background

On March 29, 2000, the defendants were indicted for participating in: (1) a mail fraud scheme, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341; (2) a health care fraud scheme, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1347; (3) various money laundering offenses, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and 1957.

Long pled guilty to a health care fraud offense (Count 16) and a money laundering [720]*720violation (Count 30). The health care fraud offense occurred on October 1, 1996, relating to Long’s application for insurance from the United States Life Insurance Company. Long’s money laundering violation involved her purchase of property on May 27,1995 for $31,900.

Seals also pled guilty to a health care fraud offense (Count 13) and a money laundering violation (Count 32). The health care fraud offense occurred on January 25, 1998, involving Seals’s claim on a Standard Life and Accident Insurance Company policy. Seals’s money laundering violation concerned a $15,500 payment that she received from Long on March 5, 1998.

The Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) for Long grouped together the two counts to which she pled guilty pursuant to United States Sentencing Guidelines § 3D1.2(d). Long’s money laundering violation resulted in a base offense level of 17. The base offense level was then increased by two points pursuant to § 2S1.2(b)(l)(B) because the proceeds used in the money laundering stemmed from violations of the mail fraud statute, and an additional two points were added pursuant to §§ 2S1.2(b)(2) and 2Sl.l(b)(2)(C) because Long laundered at least $308,300.63. After a deduction of three points pursuant to §§ 3El.l(a) and (b) for acceptance of responsibility, the PSR concluded that Long’s adjusted offense level was 18.

The PSR for Seals also grouped together the two counts to which she pled guilty pursuant to United States Sentencing Guidelines § 3D1.2(d). Seals’s money laundering violation resulted in the same base offense level of 17 as determined for Long. The base offense level was then increased by two points pursuant to § 2S1.2(b)(l)(B) because the proceeds used in the money laundering stemmed from violations of the health care fraud statute, and an additional four points were added pursuant to §§ 2S1.2(b)(2) and 2Sl.l(b)(2)(E) because Seal laundered at least $831,471.69. After a deduction of three points pursuant to §§ 3El.l(a) and (b) for acceptance of responsibility, the PSR concluded that Seals’s adjusted offense level was 20.

At the sentencing hearing, the district court denied Long’s motions for downward departures that were based upon her ill health and her contention that the money laundering guidelines were improperly applied. The district court then sentenced Long to concurrent 30-month terms of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $200 special assessment, and $308,300.63 in restitution.

Seals was granted a downward departure because of her substantial assistance to the government, but her motion for downward departures based upon the same general contentions as raised by Long was denied. The district court then sentenced Seals to concurrent 32-month terms of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $200 special assessment, and $831,471.69 in restitution.

This timely appeal by both defendants followed.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Sentencing pursuant to the money laundering guidelines

The defendants each claim that the district court erred in sentencing them pursuant to the money laundering guidelines instead of the health care fraud guidelines. Their specific claims, however, differ. In analyzing the defendants’ claims, we review de novo the district court’s interpretation of the United States Sentencing Guidelines. United States v. Jones, 159 F.3d 969, 980 (6th Cir.1998).

[721]*721Long claims that the district court erred in sentencing her pursuant to the money laundering guidelines because the date of her money laundering offense occurred on May 27, 1995, over one year before health care fraud was added as a “specified unlawful activity” pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1957. This argument is premised on Long’s belief that “the criminal conduct underlying the money laundering offense of conviction ... was health care fraud.” In the alternative, Long argues that the district court erred in increasing her base offense level by two points pursuant to United States Sentencing Guidelines § 2S1.2(b)(l)(B) on the basis that she “knew that the funds were the proceeds of ... ‘specified unlawful activity.’ ”

Long’s argument fails because her guilty plea waived all nonjurisdictional issues, United States v. Ormsby, 252 F.3d 844, 848 (6th Cir.2001), and the issue of whether the facts support a sentence pursuant to the money laundering guidelines as opposed to the health care fraud guidelines is a nonjurisdictional issue. United States v. Bahhur, 200 F.3d 917, 922 (6th Cir.2000). Bahhur similarly claimed that the district court erred in applying the money laundering guidelines because he allegedly did not engage in a “specified unlawful activity” pursuant to 18 U.S.C.

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United States v. Nanci Carter Woods
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United States v. Adnan Bahhur
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252 F.3d 844 (Sixth Circuit, 2001)
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274 F.3d 420 (Sixth Circuit, 2001)

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37 F. App'x 718, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-long-ca6-2002.