United States v. Peña

380 F. App'x 623
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided May 25, 2010·No. No. 07-10283·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM *

Severo Ramiro Peña was convicted of mail fraud and identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 1028(a)(7), related to a scheme in which he stole $124,819 in unemployment checks. He raises several issues on appeal. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the facts and procedural history of this case and discuss them only as necessary to explain our decision. We affirm.

First, the district court did not err by failing to sua sponte hold a competency hearing. While visibly upset, Peña’s behavior during the attempted plea colloquy was neither irrational, nor did it demonstrate that Peña lacked a “factual understanding of the proceedings against him.” United States v. Marks, 530 F.3d 799, 814 (9th Cir.2008) (internal quotation marks omitted). Rather, Peña understood the nature of the charges against him as well as the potential consequences should he be convicted.

Next, the district court was under no obligation to advise Peña that he could enter a plea of nolo contendere rather than plead guilty. Peña offers no legal authority for imposing such an obligation on the district court, and we know of none. Nor was it error for the district court to reject Peña’s guilty plea after Peña’s lawyer expressly declared that Peña no longer wanted to plead guilty. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(b)(2) (requiring the court to ensure a plea is voluntary before accepting it).

Peña’s numerous challenges to his sentence are also without merit. Fust, sentencing enhancements for the amount of loss caused by a fraud and the number of victims need not be supported by facts presented to a jury for proof beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Treadwell, 593 F.3d 990, 1000 (9th Cir.2010) (“Ordinarily, a district court uses a preponderance of the evidence standard of proof when finding facts at sentencing, such as the amount of loss caused by a [626] fraud.”); United States v. Armstead, 552 F.3d 769, 776-77 (9th Cir.2008) (upholding use of the preponderance standard for amount of loss and number of victims).

Second, a two-level enhancement was warranted based on the district court’s finding that Peña willfully obstructed or impeded the administration of justice. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 3C1.1 (2006). The district court made specific findings as to both falsity and willfulness, neither of which is clearly erroneous. See United States v. Ancheta, 38 F.3d 1114, 1117 (9th Cir.1994). While the district court did not explicitly mention that Peña’s false statements were about a material matter, that omission amounted to harmless error. See United States v. Gonzalez-Flores, 418 F.3d 1093, 1101 (9th Cir.2005). The district court specifically identified Peña’s perjurious statements and each of them concerned the elements of the offenses of conviction. See U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1 cmt. n. 6 (defining “material” as a statement “that, if believed, would tend to influence or affect the issue under determination”).

Third, the district court did not err in applying a two-level enhancement based on a finding that Peña played a managerial role in the offense. See U.S.S.G. § 3Bl.l(c). The district court correctly determined that Peña enlisted and supervised four other individuals in the scheme—three individuals responsible for receiving checks and one for cashing them. See United States v. Maldonado, 215 F.3d 1046, 1050 (9th Cir.2000) (“When a defendant supervises other participants, she or he need exercise authority over only one of the other participants to merit the adjustment. A single incident of persons acting under a defendant’s direction is sufficient evidence to support a two-level role enhancement.” (internal citation omitted)).

Fourth, the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining Peña’s request for a sentence lower than the applicable Guidelines range. The district court expressed several times throughout the course of the sentencing that Angel Maga-dan’s role in Peña’s scheme was extremely questionable, and clearly the district court was not convinced that Magadan was responsible for the entire fraudulent scheme, or that a lower Guidelines range based on U.S.S.G. § 5K2.12 was warranted. Rather, the district court adequately considered the section 3553(a) factors, “listened] to [Peña’s] arguments and then simply f[ound] the circumstances insufficient to warrant a sentence lower than the Guidelines range.” United States v. Amezcua-Vasquez, 567 F.3d 1050, 1054 (9th Cir.2009) (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted).

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

United States v. Peña, 380 F. App'x 623 (9th Cir. 2010).

380 F. App'x 623 (United States v. Peña) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

United States v. George Ancheta
38 F.3d 1114 (Ninth Circuit, 1994)
United States v. Jose Alfredo Maldonado, AKA Chino
215 F.3d 1046 (Ninth Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Jose Luis Gonzalez-Flores
418 F.3d 1093 (Ninth Circuit, 2005)
United States v. Marks
530 F.3d 799 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Amezcua-Vasquez
567 F.3d 1050 (Ninth Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Armstead
552 F.3d 769 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Treadwell
593 F.3d 990 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)