Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-92-06223/USCOURTS-ca10-92-06223-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Chattar P. Ahluwalia
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

UNITED sTATEs coURT oF APPEALS F I L b ·o 

Unl11!d Statlll Court ofAppealt FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Tenth Cf!'CUlt 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

v. 

CHATTAR P. AHLUWALIA, 

Defendant-Appellant. 

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JAN 2 2 1993 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

No. 92-6223 

(D. C. No. CR-92-39-R) 

(W. D. Okla. ) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

Before LOGAN, MOORE and BRORBY, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 

34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. 

submitted without oral argument. 

The cause is therefore ordered 

Mr. Ahluwalia pled guilty to three counts of bribing a public 

official and was sentenced to three concurrent sentences of 

twenty-four months. Mr. Ahluwalia appeals his sentence, asserting 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall not 

be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, except 

for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of the case, 

res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

Appellate Case: 92-6223 Document: 010110159202 Date Filed: 01/22/1993 Page: 1 
as the sole error that there was insufficient evidence to warrant 

a four-level increase in his base offense level under U.S.S.G. 

§3Bl.l (a ) for being the leader or organizer of criminal activity 

that included five or more participants. 

The basic scheme was for Mr. Ahluwalia to pay an Immigration 

and Naturalization Service employee for each travel permit or 

employment authorization card she would issue to individuals sent 

to her by Mr. Ahluwalia. Mr. Ahluwalia arranged for a recognition 

code which was that each individual he sent would carry a folder 

marked with the letter 11 S11 • 

On the first occasion, Mr. Ahluwalia transported an East 

Indian male from Texas to the Oklahoma INS office in an attempt to 

obtain a travel permit. Mr. Ahluwalia met with an INS employee at 

a local restaurant and gave her $200 in exchange for the travel 

permit. It was on this occasion that the bribery arrangements 

were worked out. 

On the second 

brought four East 

occasion, four days later, Mr. Ahluwalia 

Indian males from Texas to Oklahoma, provided 

them with the recognition folders, collected the bribe money from 

each , arranged for at least some of their paper work, rented a 

motel room for them to stay in while they were in Oklahoma, 

received the employment cards, and paid the bribe money. The 

evidence also showed Mr. Ahluwalia was the only participant who 

was fluent in English. The five participants, who supplied enough 

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Appellate Case: 92-6223 Document: 010110159202 Date Filed: 01/22/1993 Page: 2 
money to Mr. Ahluwalia for both the bribe and a profit, were fully 

aware of the illegal scheme. It was at this point Mr. Ahluwalia 

was arrested as the INS employee had promptly reported the bribe. 

The presentence report characterized Mr. Ahluwalia as the 

organizer or leader of criminal activity involving five or more 

participants. Following a hearing, the sentencing court found: 

I'm satisfied from the evidence that I've heard that the 

defendant brought five people to Oklahoma City and I'm 

satisfied they were fully aware of their involvement in 

this scheme and I'm satisfied that he was the leader and 

organizer of this ... that he ran the operation 

I'm satisfied that he meets the criteria of being an 

organizer or a leader of a criminal activity that 

involved five or more participants. 

Mr. Ahluwalia asserts the~e was no evidence showing Mr. Ahluwalia 

was a leader or organizer, only that he had five "customers. " Mr. 

Ahluwalia argues there was no organization and the five 

individuals were neither subordinates nor underlings. 

A criminal defendant's offense level is subject to several 

adjustments based upon the role the defendant played in committing 

the offense. Thus, if the defendant "was an organizer or leader 

of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants," 

his base offense level is increased by four points. See U.S . S . G. 

§3Bl.1 (a). The commentary to this section instructs that in 

distinguishing a leadership and organization role from one of mere 

management or supervision we should consider several factors 

including : 

the exercise of decision making authority, the nature of 

participation in the commission of the offense, the 

recruitment of accomplices, the claimed right to a 

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Appellate Case: 92-6223 Document: 010110159202 Date Filed: 01/22/1993 Page: 3 
larger share of the fruits of the crime, the degree of 

participation in planning or organizing the offense, the 

nature and scope of the illegal activity, and the degree 

of control and authority exercised over others. 

U.S.S.G. §3Bl.1 comment n.3. 

To apply the four-level increase in the base offense level 

under U.S . S.G. §3Bl.l(a), the sentencing court must find by a 

preponderance of the evidence that the defendant was either the 

organizer or the leader of a criminal activity involving five or 

more participants. When such a finding is attacked upon appellate 

review, we utilize the clearly erroneous standard in reaching our 

decision, which simply means that there must exist evidence in the 

record to support the finding, and, if such evidence exists, it 

must be such that we are not left with a definite and firm 

conviction that a mistake has been made. Stated somewhat 

differently, when we apply the clearly erroneous standard there is 

no single "correct" decision, but we must uphold any sentencing 

court's determination that falls within a broad 

permissible conclusions. 

range of 

We first ask if the record shows Mr. Ahluwalia was either the 

organizer or the leader. The undisputed evidence shows Mr . 

Ahluwalia recruited the participants, all of whom were willing and 

knowledgeable accomplices, transported them to the scene of the 

crime, made arrangements for their housing while the crime was 

being perpetrated, negotiated the amount of the bribes, collected 

the bribes plus a profit for himself, facilitated the paper work 

for the participants to receive the permits, received the 

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Appellate Case: 92-6223 Document: 010110159202 Date Filed: 01/22/1993 Page: 4 
immigration documents for later distribution, arranged the time 

and place of the crime, and invented and executed the recognition 

code to be utilized by the participants. Mr. Ahluwalia did not 

become the organizer simply by virtue of selling his services. 

The object of this concerted criminal activity, i.e., the 

procurement of the unauthorized documents, could be attained only 

by cooperation of the participants. The evidence demonstrates Mr. 

Ahluwalia organized the participants, made all necessary 

arrangements, exercised all decision-making, claimed the sole 

profit, and accomplished all the planning. Thus, Mr. Ahluwalia 

was unquestionably the leader of the scheme to bribe an INS 

employee, clearly a criminal activity. 

To justify a four-level increase under §Bl.l(a), there had to 

be at least five participants. The sentencing court found and the 

record supports that there were five knowing and willing 

participants. None of these five was fluent in the use of 

English. All five were criminally responsible for the commission 

of the offense even though all were not convicted nor indicted. 

U.S.S.G. §3Bl.1, comment n.1. All played a role in the offense by 

providing the money to be given as a bribe. See United States v. 

Alfaro, 919 F.2d 962, 967 (5th Cir. 1990). These five individuals 

were not unknowing outsiders, see United States v. Decicco, 899 

F.2d 1531, 1535 (7th Cir. 1990), nor were the five unconnected, 

see United States v. Smith, 951 F.2d 1164, 1170 (10th Cir. 1991) . 

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The evidence is sufficient to justify the four-point increase 

for being the organizer or leader of a criminal activity involving 

five or more participants. The judgment and sentence is AFFIRMED. 

Entered for the Court: 

WADE BRORBY 

Circuit Judge 

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