2003 D e c i sion s O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit
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# U SA v . S al a wu P r e c e de n t i al or N on-P r e c e de n t i al : N on-P r e c e de n t i al D ocke t 02-2458

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w . vi l l a no va . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2003/627* The Honorable JoelA. Pisano, United Stat es District J udge for the Distri ct of New Jersey, sitting by

designation. NOT PRE CEDENT IAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FO R T HE TH IRD CIR CU IT

No: 02-2458
UNITED S TATES OF AMERI CA

v. KAMURO SALAWU, Appellant
On A ppeal from the Un ited States District Co urt

for the D istrict of Delaw are District Cou rt Judge: Th e Ho norable Jo seph J. Farn an, Jr.

(D.C. Civi l No. 99-cr -00062-01)

Submitte d Under Third Circ uit L. A.R. 34.1( a)

April 11, 2003 Be for e: A LIT O, F UE NT ES , Circuit Judges , PIS AN O, Distri ct Judge * (Opinion Fi led: Apri l 23, 2003)

OPINI ON OF THE COURT2

FUENTES , Circ uit Judge: Appellant

Kamuro Salawu (“Salawu”) appeal s his s entence of 41 months impr is onm en t f

orth e c ri me o f b an k f

raud in vi ol at io n of

18 U .S .C . § 134 4. Sal awu argu es that th e U nited S tates D istrict Co urt for the D istrict of D elaw are erre d in enhancing hi s sente nce based on vi ctim l oss and his role as a leader or organi zer in t

he offe nse. H e claim s that the findin gs of fact n ecess ary to enh ance his sen tence shou ld ha ve be en mad e b ya j ury . B ec au se we f in d tha t t he Dis tric t C our

t s en te nc edSal awu below the st atutor

y maximum, we affi rm the Judgment of June 4, 2002, sentencing Salaw u to 4 1 m onth s imp risonm ent. I. Bac kground On August 24, 1999, t

he Government indi cted Sal awu on charges of bank fr aud and related crimes. On January 20, 2000, Sal awu pleaded guil ty to one count

of bank fraud in viola tion of

18 U .S.C. § 134 4. Sp ecifica lly, the indictm ent ch arged Salaw u w ith executing a schem e to defrau d First US A B ank by misap propriating cred it card informat ion. Sal awu paid localbank employ ees to s upply him with cre dit card account informat ion, whic h he then used to take over accounts by

changing the address es on the accounts to addresse s that he control led. The pre-se ntenc e repo rt assign ed S alaw u a ba se offens e leve l of six poin ts pursu ant to U .S.S.G . § 2F 1.1. In a ddition , he rec eived an en hanc eme nt of e leven poin ts for victim loss under U.S.S. G. § 2F1.1(b) (1) and an enhancement of four points under2 The Government argues t hat Salawu failed t o properl y r aise t his i ssue before the Distr ict Court . We assume for purpos es of thi s appeal t hat the issue was prop erly presen ted to th e D istrict Co urt. 3 U.S.S.G. § 3B1. 1(b) for his rol e as an organi zer or l eader i n the offense . Salawu objected to those enhancements. At the sen tencing he aring on M ay 6, 2002, the D istrict Court denied S alawu ’s object ions and se ntenced hi m at an offense l evel that inc luded the intende d loss and leader ship rol e enhancements. The Distri ct Court s entenced Sal awu to 41 months imp ri sonment . Th e s tatuto ry maximum t erm of impr is onme ntfor a vi ol at io n of

18 U. S. C. § 13 44 i s 30 years. II. Juri sdicti on and Standard of Review Th e D istrict Co urt e xer cise d ju risdi ction ove r this cas e pu rsua nt to 18 U .S.C . § 3231. We exercis e juri sdict ion under 28 U.S. C. § 1291 over a fi nal deci sion of a di stri ct
cou rt. A distr ict co urt’s dec ision on a n iss ue o f law is su bjec t to p lena ry revi ew . United States v. Barbosa , 271 F.3d 438, 452 (3d Cir. 200 0). III. Discussi on On appeal Salawu chal lenges t he use of fact s in the pre-s entence r eport t o enhance hi s s en te nc e b ec au se th os e f ac ts wer e n otfo und

by a j urybe y ond

a r ea so nabl e d oub t. He argues t hat becaus e he only

pleaded gui lty

to one count

of the i ndictment , the Distri ct Co urt sho uld n ot hav e con sidere d con duct u nder lying the re main ing fo ur co unts in enhancing hi s sente nce. 24

In United States v. Barbosa , 271 F.3d 438 ( 3d Cir. 2001) , we recogni zed that the Supreme Court has emphasi zed the di sti nction be tween a “sent encing factor,” an item consider ed by t

he judge i n imposing a s entence, and an “element ” of a cri me, an it em that
mu st be fou nd b y the ju ry in or der to co nvi ct. See id. at 452 (citing McM ill an v. Pen nsylvan ia , 477 U.S. 79, 85-86 (1986)) . We also st ated t hat the Supreme Court nei ther overrul ed McM ill an nor re nder ed the term “ senten cing factor” devo id of m eanin g in Apprendi v. New Jerse y , 530 U.S . 466 (20 00)
. See Barbosa , 271 F.3d at 452 (cit ations omitt ed). As a r esult , “a cour t may s til l consi der aggravating and mi tigating fact ors that support a specifi c sentenc e within t he stat utori ly prescr ibed range when sentenci ng a defend ant, so long as the sentence im posed is no t greater than the m aximum statutory penalty for

the st atutor

y offens e establ ished by the jur y’ s verdi ct. ” Id. (citing Apprendi , 530 U .S. at 483 n.10 ). Though Salawu was not convict ed by a j ury , he pl eaded guil ty to one count

of bank fraud i n violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. Thus, in imposing a s entence, the Dist rict Court was permit

ted to c onsider

aggravat ing and mit igating factor s that supporte d a specifi c sentenc e within t he stat utori ly prescr ibed range . The st atutor y maximum ter

m of impris onment for a vi olati on of 18 U.S.C. § 1344 i s 30 ye ars. After inc luding s entenci ng enhancements bas ed on the i ntended vi ctim l oss and Salawu’s role a s an organi zer or lead er in the o ffe nse , the D istrict Co urt se nten ced Sal aw u to 41 m ont hs im priso nm ent. Because the Dis tri ct Court s entenced Sal awu to a ter m of imprisonment

below the5

max imum statutory pe nalty, it was not n ecess ary that a jur y conclu de tha t the fa cts consider ed in enhanci ng the sent ence were proven beyond a reasonabl e doubt. The Distric t Cou rt prop erly senten ced S alaw u to 4 1 m onth s imp risonm ent. IV. Conclusion Accordingly , for t

he reasons stat ed above, we affi rm the judgment of the Dist

rict Co urt.

_____________________________
/s/ Jul io M. Fuentes Circuit Judge