United States v. Renet Blanc

660 F. App'x 882
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedSeptember 21, 2016
Docket15-14069
StatusUnpublished

This text of 660 F. App'x 882 (United States v. Renet Blanc) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 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. Renet Blanc, 660 F. App'x 882 (11th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

After pleading guilty, Renet Blanc appeals his total 82-month sentence for conspiracy to use unauthorized access devices with intent to defraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029(b)(2) (Count 1); trafficking and use of counterfeit access devices with intent to defraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(2) (Count 2); and aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) (Count 5). After review, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND FACTS

According to the undisputed facts, Blanc and his brother, Ronet Blanc, conspired with each other to traffic in and use personal identifying information, including social security numbers, to file false claims for federal unemployment benefits and Social Security retirement benefits and false tax returns. As a result of false claims generated by both Blanc and his brother, unemployment insurance funds were deposited into bank accounts controlled by the brothers. The brothers also withdrew funds from these bank accounts.

*884 During a search of the residence the brothers shared, federal agents found: (1) in Blanc’s bedroom, papers, ledgers, and other documents containing the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of over 50 individuals that he was not authorized to possess, and Internal Revenue Service wage and tax statements, patient records, and handwritten personal identifying information for at least 20 individuals; and (2) in his brother’s bedroom, a computer containing the names, social security numbers, and dates of birth for over 3,000 individuals that he was not authorized to possess. In all, the agents found personal identifying information for at least 4,250 victims.

II. GUIDELINES ISSUES

On appeal, Blanc challenges several of the sentencing court’s guidelines calculations as to Counts 1 and 2, including the loss amount and number of victims attributed to him and the denial of his request for a minor role reduction. 1 For the reasons that follow, we find no error in these guidelines rulings. 2

The district court did not clearly err in concluding that the full intended loss was reasonably foreseeable and thus attributable to Blanc as relevant conduct. See United States v. Moran, 778 F.3d 942, 974 (11th Cir.), cert denied sub nom. Huarte v. United States, — U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 268, 193 L.Ed.2d 196 (2015); U.S.S.G. §§ 1B1.3(a)(1)(B), 2B1.1 cmt. n.3(A). Although the district court did not make individualized findings regarding the scope of Blanc’s participation in the conspiracy, the undisputed facts in the presen-tence investigation report (“PSI”) support the district court’s attribution of loss. See United States v. Petrie, 302 F.3d 1280, 1290 (11th Cir. 2002).

The undisputed facts in the PSI established that Blanc’s co-conspirator was his brother, with whom he shared a residence. The materials from the conspiracy were found in both brothers’ bedrooms. Furthermore, the funds generated by the conspiracy, regardless of which brother was submitting the claim, were deposited into accounts controlled by both brothers, and both brothers withdrew funds generated by the conspiracy from at least one shared bank account. Under the circumstances, the district court did not err in concluding that Blanc should be held accountable for the full intended loss amount.

For similar reasons, the district court did not err in concluding that Blanc was accountable, as relevant conduct, for the full number of victims, including those whose identifying information was found in his brother’s bedroom. Blanc did not dispute the statements in his PSI that: (1) “at least 4,250 victims’ [personal identifying information was] found during the search” of the brothers’ shared residence; and (2) “there were at least 4,250 victims whose personal identity was compromised as a result” of the brothers’ actions although “they did not suffer any monetary loss.” As mentioned above, materials for the *885 brothers’ conspiracy were found in the brothers’ shared residence, regardless of which specific room the material was found. Each type of fraud that was part of the conspiracy was committed by both brothers, conspiring together.

While Blanc argues (for the first time on appeal) that the victims did not suffer “substantial financial hardship,” the 2014 version of § 2Bl.l’s 6-level multiple victim enhancement used to calculate Blanc’s offense level merely requires “250 or more victims,” and does not require the victims to have suffered substantial financial hardship. See U.S.S.G. §§ 1B1.11(a), 2B1.1(b)(2)(C) & cmt. n.4(E)(ii) (stating that in cases involving means of identification, a victim includes “any individual whose means of identification was used unlawfully or without authority”).

The district court also did not err in concluding that Blanc did not qualify for a minor role reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2. Blanc had the burden to prove he was entitled to the reduction, see United States v. Alvarez-Coria, 447 F.3d 1340, 1343 (11th Cir. 2006), but failed to show he was substantially less culpable than his brother. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 cmt. n.3(A), n.4 & n.5. Both brothers used the personal identifying information of others to submit false claims electronically. The funds received by the conspiracy, regardless of which brother submitted the false claim, were deposited into accounts controlled by both brothers. And both brothers withdrew funds using ATM cards. The fact that Blanc had less personal identifying information in his bedroom and withdrew less money does not prove that his role was minor. See United States v. De Varon, 175 F.3d 930, 944 (11th Cir. 1999) (en banc) (explaining that it is possible to have no minimal or minor participants' in a conspiracy). In the absence of any other information, we cannot say that the district court erred in its ruling on the role issue.

III. SUBSTANTIVE REASONABLENESS

We review the reasonableness of a sentence under the deferential abuse of discretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 41, 128 S.Ct. 586, 591, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007). We look first at whether the district court committed any significant procedural error and then at whether the sentence is substantively unreasonable under the totality of the circumstances. United States v. Pugh, 515 F.3d 1179, 1190 (11th Cir. 2008). 3

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Bluebook (online)
660 F. App'x 882, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-renet-blanc-ca11-2016.