United States v. Michael Rouse

500 F. App'x 295

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: December 11, 2012
• Docket: 11-10743
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

Michael R. Rouse appeals the sentence imposed following his jury convictions for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering (Count 1), and aiding and abetting securities fraud (Counts 2 and 3), mail fraud (Counts 4-8), and money laundering (Count 9). As his sole issue on appeal, Rouse argues that the district court clearly erred in finding that the offense involved sophisticated means, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(9)(C) (Nov. 2010).

The determination that the offense involved sophisticated means is a factual finding that we review for clear error. United States v. Conner, 537 F.3d 480, 492 (5th Cir.2008). “A factual finding is not clearly erroneous as long as it is plausible in light of the record as a whole.” United States v. Betancourt, 422 F.3d 240, 246 (5th Cir.2005) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Our review reveals that the district court did not clearly err in finding that the offense involved sophisticated means. See U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1, comment. (n.8 (B)); United States v. Clements, 73 F.3d 1330, 1340 (5th Cir.1996).

AFFIRMED.

* Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.