Source: http://www.justice.gov/usam/civil-resource-manual-182-probation-letter
Timestamp: 2016-02-11 11:22:09
Document Index: 369092007

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3663', '§ 3663', '§ 5', '§ 3663', '§ 5', '§ 3664', '§ 2', 'art 1']

182. Probation Letter for Convictions Where the Count of Conviction Occurred in Whole or in Part After November 1, 2001 | USAM | Department of Justice
You are hereU.S. Attorneys » U.S. Attorneys' Manual » Civil Resource Manual 182. Probation Letter for Convictions Where the Count of Conviction Occurred in Whole or in Part After November 1, 2001
United States Probation Office[ ] District of [state][address][city, state zip]
Criminal No. [docket number] Dear [ ]:
[Describe how the government knows the total number of clocked cars. It may be that we checked for rollbacks on 300 cars, and found 200 rollbacks. This may be all we use for sentencing. But if there is reason to believe this understates the defendants' criminal activity, explain why that is so and provide a reliable estimate of the total number of cars clocked. For example, provide the number of vehicles the government knows the defendants purchased and on which we checked for rollbacks, and state the number of rollbacks found among those vehicles. Such as, "Defendants purchased 300 vehicles for which the government checked for rollback activity, discovering 200 rollbacks. This is 67% rollback rate for vehicles the defendants purchased." Then explain how many vehicles we believe the defendants actually purchased and sold during the period they were clocking cars. For example, "Defendants produced no records to the United States showing their total volume. Moreover, they did business in numerous places and dealt with multiple banks and other institutions, making it difficult to collect records showing a complete picture of their operation over the entire period of illegal activity. Nevertheless, bank records, auction records, dealer records, and witness interviews establish that defendants purchased and sold at least 900 cars during the conspiracy period." Explain the basis for this conclusion. United States v. Berndt, 86 F.3d 803, 811 (8th Cir. 1996), supports this type of estimation. In Berndt, although the government could identify only 67 cars involved in the fraud, the court held that the estimate of 90 vehicles was not unreasonable. In support of this holding, the court noted: "Considering that fraud involves the element of deceit and secrecy, it is likely that there are more automobiles involved in this odometer-tampering scheme than the government can track down." Id. Provide sufficient information to draw this sort of conclusion: "From the above, we know that defendants handled 900 vehicles during the period they were clocking cars, and that their rollback rate was 67%. Thus, the best estimate of the number of cars defendants clocked is 67% of 900 vehicles, for a total of 600 rollbacks."]
[Note: Defendants frequently ask that the court use "Blue Book" values to determine loss. To some extent "book values" can be used to support our evaluations, as is done above, and in another respect book values underestimate loss, for reasons discussed above. In addition, OCL has obtained declarations from the publishers of Kelley's Blue Book and the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide which state that their publications are not appropriate to use in attempting to estimate the loss in value caused by an odometer rollback. Nevertheless, DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2002 released a study that uses high and low-mileage figures from the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide ("book value analysis") to conclude that consumers pay about $2,336 more for a clocked car than they should. The study makes it clear that this figure is merely an estimate of increased purchase price, and does not include other losses consumers suffer from odometer fraud. The Executive Summary of the study states: That sum [$2,336] does not include inflated financing, insurance and tax costs; additional amounts consumers pay for vehicle repairs; other consequential damages; the decreased resale value due to the vehicle having an altered odometer; or the many indirect or intangible costs of odometer fraud: time spent waiting for vehicle repairs and road service, consumers' anger and frustration at being cheated and getting a car they wouldn't have wanted, and costs of government programs to detect and deter odometer fraud. Study, p. vii. See also id. at p. 35. Thus, the most significant items beyond purchase price that contribute to consumer loss are not considered by the NHTSA report: repair costs and loss of resale value. These items are properly counted in measuring loss under U.S.S.G. &§ 2B1.1. Accordingly, the figure in the NHTSA study only measures a portion of what constitutes loss under U.S.S.G. &§ 2B1.1, making the study essentially irrelevant to loss analysis under the Guidelines. Note that U.S.S.G. &§ 2B1.1, Application Note 3(D)(i), states that interest is excluded from loss; and Application Note 3(A)(iii) states that emotional distress and other non-economic harm is not included in loss. Thus, nothing can be added to loss under U.S.S.G. &§ 2B1.1 for these items. As mentioned above, OCL has declarations from the authors of the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide and Kelley's Blue Book which state that using their publications to try to establish losses caused by odometer fraud is not appropriate. The Diklich declaration (¶ 9) makes the same point. If you need a copy of these declarations or the NHTSA study to use at a sentencing, contact OCL.]
D.Sophisticated Means [Under U.S.S.G. &§ 2B1.1(b)(9)(C), there is an increase of 2 offense levels if an offense involved "sophisticated means." "Sophisticated means" is defined in Application Note 8(B) to include "especially complex or especially intricate offense conduct pertaining to the execution or concealment of an offense." The Application Note provides as examples telemarketers who locate the main office of the scheme in one jurisdiction, but locate soliciting operations in another. Further, conduct "such as hiding assets or transactions, or both, through the use of fictitious entities, corporate shells, or offshore financial accounts also ordinarily indicates sophisticated means." Application Note 8(B). In odometer fraud schemes, the use of bogus dealer names and straw transactions, or bank accounts in bogus dealer names, to hide responsibility for the offense suggests "sophisticated means." In addition, operating in multiple states, creating victims in different jurisdictions than where cars are purchased and the defendant does business, would also indicate the applicability of this enhancement.]
[The "mandatory restitution" provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3663A-3664 have applied to Title 18 fraud offenses since 1996. Title 49 odometer offenses themselves are not subject to mandatory restitution. See 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(c)(1). However, U.S.S.G. &§ 5E1.1(a)(2) directs that a court impose a restitution order as a term of supervised release for offenses [such as odometer tampering] that are not restitution-authorized under 18 U.S.C. § 3663(a)(1). Under U.S.S.G. &§ 5E1.1(b)(2)(B), that provision does not apply where "determining complex issues of fact related to the cause or amount of the victim's losses would complicate or prolong the sentencing process to a degree that the need to provide restitution to any victim is outweighed by the burden on the sentencing process." For mandatory restitution offenses, section 3664(f)(1)(A) states that the defendant's economic circumstances may not be considered in determining the amount of restitution, though they can be considered in ordering nominal periodic payments in lieu of full restitution at once. 18 U.S.C. § 3664(f)(3)(B). Nevertheless, section 3663A(c)(3) provides that restitution need not be ordered if (A) "the number of identifiable victims is so large as to make restitution impracticable" or (B) if "determining complex issues of fact related to the cause or amount of the victim's losses would complicate or prolong the sentencing process to a degree that the need to provide restitution to any victim is outweighed by the burden on the sentencing process."
The victims are generally the first consumer purchaser of the vehicles. However, if that information is unavailable and current owners are known, the current owners can properly be viewed as victims, as they cannot readily resell the vehicles once notified of the rollback. With large numbers of vehicles and the vagaries of consumer car repair bills, determining restitution amounts consumer by consumer is virtually impossible, suggesting that the average loss per vehicle amount used to calculate loss under &§ 2B1.1 should be used as the restitution amount where restitution is practicable. In those cases, probation should be provided as complete a list of victims as possible, and urged to grant as restitution the figure that is used to calculate "loss" under 2B1.1. Some jurisdictions view use of an "average" loss figure as inappropriate. In those jurisdictions, the Probation Office contacts victims seeking individualized loss information. If OCL or the USAO is sending victim notification letters (informing consumers that they are victims of the offense) in the period of time before sentencing, it is frequently efficient to send in the same mailing to victims the notice that the Probation Office provides to victims, in which the Probation Office solicits information about consumer losses. In cases where restitution is not practicable, the following, reflecting the language of the statute, may apply:]
[NAME][ATTORNEY][OFFICE]
‹ 181. Probation Letter for Convictions Where the Count of Conviction Occurred Prior to November 1, 2001
183. Sample Government's Reply to Defendant's Sentencing Memorandum (part 1) ›