FILED U.S. COURT OF AP P EALS E LEVEN T HC IRC U IT AUGUST 14, 2008 THOMAS K. KAH

N CLERK [ DO NO T P UB L I S H] I N THE UN I TE D STATE S C OU RT OF APPE ALS F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C IR C U IT

________________________ N o. 08- 10184 N on -A rgum entC al endar

________________________ D . C. D o c k e tN o . 0 7 - 6 0 1 5 5 - CR- W PD U N I T E D S T A T E S O F A M E R I C A , P la in tif f - A p p e lle e , v ersu s S T E V E N K H A N , D e f e n d a n t- A p p e lla n t.

________________________ A pp ea l fr om the U ni t ed S t at es D i stri ctC ou rt f orthe S outhe rn D i s tr i c tof F l or i da

_________________________ ( A u gu s t 14, 2008) B efo re T JO F L A T , B L A C K an d P R Y O R , C i rcu i tJu d g es. P E R C U R I A M: S te v e n K h a n ap p e a ls h is s e n te n c e to 4 1 m o n th s o f im p r is o n m e n t f

o rm a il2

f r aud. 18 U . S . C . § 1341. K ha n c ont e s t s the e nha nc e m e ntof hi s s e nt e nc e f

or abus i ng apos i t i on of

trus t , the c a l c ul a t i on of hi s a m ountof

l os s , a nd the r e a s o n ab l e n e s s o f

h i s s e n t e n c e . W e a f

f i rm. I . B AC KG RO UN D M L S R ea l ty hi re d K han as i t s pri nci pal re al es t at e broker. K han w as re qu i re d t o col l ec tand d el i ver t o the ac coun t i ng departm entthe checks r ec ei ved f r o m c l o s i n g a g e n t s a n d r e a l e s t a t e b r o k e r a g e c o mp a n i e s . Two y e a r s l a t e r , M LS R e a l ty a dopt e d ac orpor a t e r e s ol ut i on tha tappoi nt e d K ha n vi c e pr e s i de ntof the c om pa ny . A l though the r e s ol ut i on di d note xt e nd author i ty t o K ha n t o ope n ba nk a c c ount s ore ndor s e r e m i tt a nc e s t o M L S R e a l ty f orde pos i t , K ha n us e d the re sol ut i on t o o pen tw o b usi ness ac coun t s a tW ac ho vi a B ank. T he ac coun t s, cr ea t ed usi ng K han’ s hom e a dd re ss and for w hi ch K han w as the sol e s i gn at ory, w er e t i t l ed “M L S R e a lty I n c ., C o m m is s io n s ” a n d “M L S R e a lty I n c ., E s c r o w .” O ve rthe ne xttw o y e a r s , K ha n m i s appr opr i a t e d a nd de pos i t e d $1, 691, 523. 21 in c o m m is s io n c h e c k s m a d e p a y ab le to M L S R e a lty in to h is “M L S R e a lty I n c ., C om m i s s i ons ” a c c ount . B e f or e hi s s c he m e w a s di s c ove r e d, K ha n i ns truc t e d a c l i e ntof M L S R e a l ty , N e w H om e s I nc orpor a t e d, t o m a ke i t s r e f e rr a l f e e c he c ks pa y abl e t o M L S R e a l ty a nd K ha n. N e w H om e s m a i l e d the c he c ks t o K ha n, w ho depo si t ed them i nt o h i s “ C om m i ss i on s” ac coun t . K han u se d som e f un ds t o p ay3

agent s thei r l egi t i m at e c om m i ss i on s and other f un ds for hi s per sonal use. K han w r o te c h e c k s to h im s e lf a n d lau n d e r e d th e m o n e y b y tr a n s f e rr in g f u n d s to h is

“ E s c r ow ” a c c ounttha the di s pe r s e d t o hi m s e l f a nd t o c om pa ni e s tha the ow ne d. K han w as i nd i ct ed for 10 cou nt s of m ai l fr aud and 17 coun t s of m on ey l aund er i ng . K han ent er ed a bl i nd pl eaof gu i l ty t o C ou nt1 o f the i nd i ctm entthat c ha r ge d hi m f

orus i ng the m a i l f

r audul e nt l y t o obt a i n f

r om N e w H om e s $3, 532. 35 o w e d to M L S R e a lty . D u r in g th e g u ilty p le ac o llo q u y , K h an a d m itte d th a t h is m a il f r aud c r i m e oc c urr e d f

r om 2004 thr ough 2006. T he pres ent ence i nv es t i gat i on re po rtl i st ed K han’ s bas e off ense l evel at se ven, U . S . S . G . § 2 B 1. 1(a) (1), i ncre as ed i tby 16 l evel s f or a l oss a m ou ntbetw ee n $1 a nd $2. 5 m i l l i on, i d. § 2B 1. 1( b) ( 1) , i nc r e a s e d i tby tw o l e ve l s f orabus i ng a pos i t i on of

publ i c orpr i va t e trus t , i d. § 3B 1. 3, a nd de c r e a s e d i tby thr e e l e ve l s f or a c c e pt a nc e of

r e s pons i bi l i ty , i d. § 3E 1. 1. W i th ac r i m i na l hi s t ory c a t e gory of I , the r e p o rt p r o v id e d as e n te n c in g r a n g e b e tw e e n 4 1 a n d 5 1 m o n th s o f im p r is o n m e n t. K han fi l ed a s ent enci ng m em orandu m and rai se d tw o i ss ues. F i rs t , K han a r gue d tha tthe r e s t i tut i on a nd l os s a m ount s of $1, 757, 188. 75 s houl d be r e duc e d by th e $ 6 5 1 ,0 6 4 .5 1 th a t h e u s e d to p a y le g itim a te b u s in e s s e x p e n s e s . S e e id . § 2 B 1 .1 c m t . n. 3. ( E ) . S e c ond, K ha n r e que s t e d tha tthe c ourtc ons i de rthe pr of e s s i ona l a nd f i na nc i a l c ons e que nc e s tha the a nd hi s f a m i l y ha d e ndur e d a nd i m pos e abe l ow4

g u id e lin e s s e n te n c e o f

3 3 m o n th s o f

im p r is o n m e n t. A tthe s e nt e nc i ng he a r i ng, K ha n w i thdr e w hi s obj e c t i on t o the a m ountof r e s titu tio n a n d s ta te d th a t th e p a rtie s h a d a g r e e d to r e s titu tio n o f $ 1 ,0 4 0 .4 5 8 .7 0 . K ha n r e pe a t e d hi s r e que s tf oras e nt e nc e of

33 m onths of

i m pr i s onm e nt . T he di s tr i c tc ourt“ c ons i de r [ e d] ” the c ons e que nc e s m e nt i one d by K ha n a s “ m i t i ga t i ng fa ct ors f or se nt enci ng , ” butst at ed thati thad t o i m po se a s ent ence “ t o p rovi de a re as on abl e det erre ntt o p re ventother peopl e f rom com m i tt i ng thi s part i cul ar c r i m e . ” T he di s tr i c tc ourtc onc l ude d tha tat e rm of i m pr i s onm e nti n the “ l ow e nd of the gui de l i ne r a nge ” pr ovi de d a“ r e a s onabl e a nd s uf f i c i e nts e nt e nc e ” a nd s e nt e nc e d K ha n t o s e rve 41 m onths of i m pr i s onm e ntf

ol l ow e d by at e rm of su p erv i sed rel ease o f 3 years. I I . STA N D A R D S O F R EVI EW A r g u m e n ts n o t r a is e d in th e d is tr ic t c o u rt a r e r e v ie w e d f o rp la in e rr o r . U ni t e d S t a t e s v. W i l l i a m s , 469 F . 3d 963, 965 ( 11th C i r . 2006) . W e w i l l not c ons i de re rr orc aus e d by the a c t i ons of the c om pl a i ni ng pa rty . U ni t e d S t a t e s v. L ov e, 44 9 F . 3d 11 54 , 11 57 (11th C i r. 20 06 ). W e r evi ew the re as on abl enes s of a c r i m i na l s e nt e nc e f

ora n abus e of

di s c r e t i on. G a l l v. U ni t e d S t a t e s , 128 S . C t . 586, 594, 596–97 ( 2007) . “ [ T ] he pa rty w ho c ha l l e nge s the s e nt e nc e be a r s the bur de n of e s t abl i s hi ng tha tthe s e nt e nc e i s unr e a s onabl e i n the l i ghtof both [ the ] r e c or d a nd5

th e f a c to r s in s e c tio n 3 5 5 3 ( a ) .” U n ite d S ta te s v . T a lle y , 4 3 1 F .3 d 7 8 4 , 7 8 8 ( 1 1 th C i r. 20 05 ). I I I . DI S CUS S I ON K h a n r a is e s th r e e c h a lle n g e s to h is s e n te n c e . A ll f a il. W e a d d r e s s e a c h in turn. A . T

he D is tr i c t

C our t D i d N ot P lai nl y E r rby Appl

y i ng th e A b u s e o

f T r u s t E n h a n c e m e n t. K han argues thatthe di stri ctcourtshou l d n othave appl i ed t o h i s s ent ence a tw o-l evelenhancem entfor abu si ng a posi t i on of pu bl i c or pri vat e trust . K han ar gu es that , t o h ol d a po si t i on of pu bl i c or pri vat e trust , he m usthave been entrust ed w i th d i sc re t i on ary autho ri ty t o acton behal f of M L S R ea l ty. S ee U . S . S . G . § 3 B 1. 3 cm t . n. 1. K han argues thathe w as no tgi ven d i sc re t i on ary au th o r ity a s e s tab lis h e d b y th e f a c t th a t th e c o rp o r a te r e s o lu tio n th a t ap p o in te d h im v i ce p resi d en td i d n o tco n fer o n h i m th e ri g h tt o o p en b an kacco u n t s. K han’ s argum entfa i l s. T he se nt enci ng gu i del i nes provi de for atw o-l evel e nha nc e m e nti f

the de f e nda ntabus e d apos i t i on of publ i c orpr i va t e trus ti n a m a n n e rth a t s ig n if

ic a n tly f a c ilita te d th e c o m m is s io n o rc o n c e a lm e n t o f th e o f f e n s e . U . S . S . G . § 3 B 1 . 3 . T h e ap p l i cat i o n n o t e d efi n es “ p u b l i c o r p ri v at e tru st ” as a pers on w ho exer ci se s “ subst ant i al di sc re t i on ary j ud gm entthati s ordi nari l y gi ven c o n s id e r ab le d e f

e r e n c e .” I d . c m t. n .1 . T h is C o u rt h a s h e ld th a t s e c tio n 3 B 1 .36

s h o u ld b e ap p lie d in tw o s itu a tio n s : “( 1 ) ‘w h e r e th e d e f e n d a n t s te a ls f

r o m h is e m pl oy e r , us i ng hi s pos i t i on i n the c om pa ny t o f a c i l i t a t e the of

f e ns e , ’ a nd ( 2)

‘ w he r e a“ f

i duc i a ry orpe r s ona l trus tr e l a t i ons hi p e xi s t s ” w i th othe re nt i t i e s , a nd the defe nd antt akes advant age of the re l at i on shi p t o p erpetra t e or c on ce al the offens e. ’ ” U ni t ed S t at es v. G arri son, 13 3 F . 3d 83 1, 83 7– 38 (11th C i r. 19 98 ) ( qu ot i ng U ni t ed S t at es v. K oehn , 74 F . 3d 19 9, 20 1 (10 th C i r. 19 96 )) . T he di s tr i c tc ourtdi d notpl a i nl y e rrby f i ndi ng tha tK ha n abus e d apos i t i on o f p r iv a te tru s t. K h a n m is ap p r o p r ia te d c h e c k s th a t h e w a s e n tru s te d to f o rw a r d to the a c c ount i ng de pa rtm e ntof M L S R e a l ty a nd he us e d the c orpor a t e r e s ol ut i on appoi nt i ng hi m a s vi c e pr e s i de ntt o ope n ba nk a c c ount s . K ha n a l s o t ook a dva nt a ge of hi s pos i t i on a s the c ol l e c t i on a ge ntf orM L S R e a l ty a nd i ns truc t e d the pr e s i de nt o f N e w H o me s t o ma k e c h e c k s p a y ab l e t o h i m. B . Kh a n I

n v ite d th e A lleg e d

E r r o rin th e C a lc u la tio n o f His L o s s A m o u n t. K han argues thatthe l oss a m ou ntused t o d et erm i ne hi s gui del i ne ra ng e w as e rr o n e o u s ly c a lc u la te d . H e a s s e rts th a t h e w a s n o t c r e d ite d th e a m o u n t o w e d h im f ors e rvi c e s pe r f

orm e d f orM L S R e a l ty a nd the l os s a m ounti nc l ude d f r audul e nt ac t i vi t i es thatpredat ed hi s m ai l fr aud cri m e. W e di sa gree . K h a n is n o t e n title d to r e lie f . A lth o u g h K h a n in itia lly o b je c te d to h is r e s t i tut i on a nd l os s a m ount s , he l a t e rne got i a t e d a nd a gr e e d w i th the gove rnm e nt7

on tha ta m ount . A ny e rr ori s i nvi t e d. S e e L ove , 449 F . 3d a t1157. C . Kha n’s Sentence Is R easona bl e. T he di s tr i c tc ourtdi d notabus e i t s di s c r e t i on w he n i ts e nt e nc e d K ha n t o the l ow end o f the gu i del i ne ra ng e. A l tho ug h K han com pl ai ns thatthe di stri ctcourt di d notpr ope r l y w e i gh hi s a ge a nd hi s pr of e s s i ona l a nd pe r s ona l l os s e s , the ab s e n c e o f

p r io rc r im in a l a c tiv ity , a n d th e f in a n c ia l s u p p o rt K h a n p r o v id e s to h is w if e a n d s te p d au g h te r , th e d is tr ic t c o u rt s ta te d th a t it c o n s id e r e d th o s e f a c ts in m i t i ga t i on. T he di s tr i c tc ourte xpl a i ne d tha tas e nt e nc e of 41 m onths of im p r is o n m e n t s e rv e d th e s ta tu to ry p u rp o s e s o f d e te rr e n c e a n d a d e q u a te p u n is h m e n t. S e e 2 8 U .S .C . § 3 5 5 3 ( a ) ; G a ll, 1 2 8 S . C t. a t 5 9 7 . K h a n ’s s e n te n c e is re as on abl e. I V . CONCL US I ON K h an ’ s sen t en ce i s AF F I RME D.