United States v. Yeh

199 F. Supp. 3d 998, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107778, 2016 WL 4205419
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedAugust 9, 2016
DocketCase No. 1:13-cr-378-GBL
StatusPublished

This text of 199 F. Supp. 3d 998 (United States v. Yeh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Yeh, 199 F. Supp. 3d 998, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107778, 2016 WL 4205419 (E.D. Va. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

Gerald Bruce Lee, United States District Judge

THIS MATTER is before the Court on the Government’s Motion for Entry of Restitution Order (Doc. 134). This case arises from the terms of Defendant Henry Washington Yeh’s (“Defendant”) supervised release following his conviction of subscribing to false tax returns on February 26, 2014. The Government asserts that Defendant is required to pay $210,135.00 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for “the tax liability resulting from [Djefend,ant’s receipt of illegal drug proceeds.” (Doc. 133, 7). Defendant maintains that the Government has already seized bank accounts and property far exceeding his alleged drug proceeds, and as such, under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA) Defendant should be entitled to credit those forfeited funds to offset the restitution award. The issue before the Court is whether to grant or deny the Government’s motion where the Defendant’s forfeited funds were distributed to several distinct government agencies, and the value of Defendant’s forfeited account appreciated due to Defendant’s commingling of legitimate funds with his drug proceeds. The Court GRANTS the Government’s Motion for Entry of Restitution Order (Doc. 134) for two reasons. First, awarding restitution in full to the IRS will serve to make the victim whole and will not amount to a double recovery. Second, property subject to forfeiture is forfeited in full, including any appreciation in value over time.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 12, 2010, Defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. (Doc. 128, 2). Defendant was sentenced to [1000]*1000fifteen months incarceration, a $50,000 fine, and four years of supervised release. Id. According to the Government’s calculation, Defendant’s actual gross income from drug proceeds was $810,000.00. (Doc. 119). The Government also determined the tax loss from that income to be $210,135.00, which this Court adopted for purposes of calculating the base offense level in this case. Id. This tax loss is the subject of the Government’s motion. See Doc. 129, 7; see also Doc. 128, 5.

On December 28, 2010, the Government seized Defendant’s Charles Schwab account, containing $917,086.88. (Doc. 128-1. 1). Defendant maintains that the Schwab account represented an initial investment of $200,000 from his drug proceeds, while the remaining $717,086.88 resulted from “extremely favorable appreciation as a result of Mr. Yeh’s insightful and skilled stock trading.” Id. Defendant asserts that by seizing his entire Schwab account, the Government received additional non-drug proceeds amounting to $717,086.88, funds that could have been used to pay Defendant’s outstanding tax obligations as well as other obligations. Id. Defendant alleges that the total forfeitures in this case, in addition to the $717,086.88 seized on December 28, 2010, include real property at 513 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington DC,1 real property at 22646 Upperville Heights Square, Ashburn, VA,2 a 2007 gray Acura SUV, and “$100,000 in cash.” (Doc. 128, 5).

On February 26, 2014, Defendant appeared before this Court and entered a guilty plea to Count 19 of the pending indictment charging him with subscribing to false tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1). (Doc. 72). The remaining counts were dismissed pursuant to the terms of a written plea agreement. (Docs. 74-75). At sentencing on May 9, 2014, Defendant objected to the amount of tax loss and to the issuance of a restitution order (Doc. 116). This Court sentenced Defendant to 27 months in the Bureau of Prisons and 1 year of supervised release with a number of conditions, including the payment of restitution at a monthly rate of $150 per month until paid in full. (Docs. 116,124). At sentencing, Defendant’s counsel raised the issue of whether he should be required to pay restitution in light of the forfeitures in the related civil case. (Doc. 129, 1). This Court ordered briefs by both parties to be filed by May 16, 2014, and instructed that no reply briefs would be allowed. (Docs. 116, 124). The Government filed its brief on May 16, 2014, while Defendant did not file his brief until May 21, 2014. (Does. 127,128). The Government subsequently filed a Motion to File Reply (Doc. 129) on May 27, 2014, arguing that it should be entitled to reply to Defendant’s brief because Defendant “so cavalierly ignored the Court’s deadline.” (Doc. 129, 1). Alternatively, the Government asserted that should this Court decline the Government’s motion, this Court should strike Defendant’s brief (Doc. 128) for failure to comply with May 16, 2014 deadline. Id. at 1-2. On June 8, 2014, this Court granted the Government’s motion and allowed the Government to file a reply brief. See Doc. 131. 1

On October 20, 2015, the Government submitted a reply brief in support of its proposed entry of restitution (Doc. 133), clarifying that while the substance of the reply was contained in the initial Motion for Leave to File a Reply Brief (Doe. 129), the pleading was not unambiguously captioned as such. See Doc. 133, 1. The Gov-[1001]*1001erranent’s reply brief specifically adopts and incorporates by reference the arguments and legal authority previously set forth in its motion for leave. Id. The United States Probation Office contacted the Government to advise that Defendant has served his sentence at the Bureau of Prisons and is currently on supervised release. (Doe. 134,2). The Government’s motion for restitution is now properly before this Court.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Restitution awards under the MVRA are implemented and enforced according to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3664. See 18 U.S.C. § 3664a; see also 18 U.S.C. § 3664(A)(d) (providing that an order of restitution under 18 U.S.C. § 3664a “shall be issued and enforced in accordance with section 3664”). § 3664 provides that “the court shall order restitution to each victim in the full amount of each victim’s losses as determined by the court.” § 3664(f)(1)(A). The purpose of the MVRA is, “to the extent possible, to make victims whole, to fully compensate victims for their loss, and to restore victims to their original state of well-being.” United States v. Simmonds, 235 F.3d 826, 831 (3d Cir.2000); see also United States v. Alalade, 204 F.3d 536, 539 (4th Cir.2000) (directing district courts to order restitution in the full amount of each victim’s loss, without consideration of the economic circumstances of the defendant). Therefore, restitution does not permit recovery above a victim’s actual loss. United States v. Quillen, 335 F.3d 219

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

Related

United States v. Taylor
582 F.3d 558 (Fifth Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Martinez
610 F.3d 1216 (Tenth Circuit, 2010)
United States v. McGinty
610 F.3d 1242 (Tenth Circuit, 2010)
United States v. Larry L. Emerson
128 F.3d 557 (Seventh Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Lester A. Hawkey
148 F.3d 920 (Eighth Circuit, 1998)
United States v. William Quillen
335 F.3d 219 (Third Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Shaun Joseph Ruff
420 F.3d 772 (Eighth Circuit, 2005)
United States v. Shaun Joseph Ruff
472 F.3d 1044 (Eighth Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Torres
703 F.3d 194 (Second Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Samuel Davis
706 F.3d 1081 (Ninth Circuit, 2013)
United States v. Smith
297 F. Supp. 2d 69 (District of Columbia, 2003)
United States v. O'Connor
321 F. Supp. 2d 722 (E.D. Virginia, 2004)
United States v. Khalil Blackman
746 F.3d 137 (Fourth Circuit, 2014)
United States v. Simmonds
235 F.3d 826 (Third Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Santoro
866 F.2d 1538 (Fourth Circuit, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
199 F. Supp. 3d 998, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107778, 2016 WL 4205419, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-yeh-vaed-2016.