Case ID: f-appx_687/html/0420-02.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "PER CURIAM: \n    ", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Demar Crozier WATSON, Defendant-Appellant.
    No. 16-30677 Summary Calendar
    United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
    Filed April 26, 2017
    
      Carol Mignonne Griffing, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellee
    Stephen Adger Glassell, Esq., Attorney, Shreveport, LA, for Defendant-Appellant
    Before JOLLY, SMITH, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.
   PER CURIAM:

Demar Watson appeals his sentence for theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. The district court sentenced him to 38 months of imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release, and $397,255.68 in restitution. He contends that the court clearly erred by applying a two-level enhancement per U.S.S.G. § 2Bl.l(b)(10)(C) for an offense otherwise involving sophisticated means.

Watson transferred money from his employer’s account to his personal account, opened a credit account with his supervisor’s personal information, labeled the transactions as company expenses, and signed a blank company check to himself. His actions made it more difficult to detect the misappropriation, so the finding that the offense involved sophisticated means was plausible in light of the record as a whole and not clearly erroneous. See United States v. Valdez, 726 F.3d 684, 692, 695 (5th Cir. 2013).

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       Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir, R. 47.5.4.