Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca5-14-10636/USCOURTS-ca5-14-10636-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Lisa Faulkner
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-10636

Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

LISA FAULKNER,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Texas

USDC No. 4:14-CR-12-1

Before PRADO, OWEN, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Lisa Faulkner appeals the sentence imposed following her guilty plea 

conviction for wire fraud. Faulkner argues that the district court erred by 

imposing a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(10)(C) because 

the offense involved sophisticated means. We review the district court’s factual 

determination that Faulkner used sophisticated means for clear error. See 

United States v. Conner, 537 F.3d 480, 492 (5th Cir. 2008).

* 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.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

March 23, 2015

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

 

Case: 14-10636 Document: 00512978522 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/23/2015
No. 14-10636

Faulkner created fictitious room revenue credits using the house account

and issued these refunds to her personal accounts. The majority of these 

refunds corresponded to the current nightly room rate and taxes. Faulkner’s 

scheme “made it more difficult for the offense to be detected,” United States v. 

Valdez, 726 F.3d 684, 695 (5th Cir. 2013), insofar as she created fictitious 

refunds, keyed the refund amounts to the current room rates, and deposited 

the refunds into four different personal accounts. Given these facts, the district 

court’s application of the enhancement was not clear error. See Conner, 537 

F.3d at 492. Further, we are satisfied that, given the record, the Government 

has carried its burden of demonstrating that any error was harmless. See 

United States v. Ibarra-Luna, 628 F.3d 712, 718-19 (5th Cir. 2010).

AFFIRMED.

2

Case: 14-10636 Document: 00512978522 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/23/2015