Source: http://openjurist.org/997/f2d/263
Timestamp: 2015-07-04 15:44:48
Document Index: 678413268

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1341', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2']

997 F2d 263 United States v. F Boula D | OpenJurist
997 F. 2d 263 - United States v. F Boula D	Home997 f2d 263 united states v. f boula d
997 F2d 263 United States v. F Boula D 997 F.2d 263
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.Kenneth F. BOULA and Earl D. Gordon, Defendants-Appellants.
Argued Nov. 30, 1992.Decided June 21, 1993.
Kenneth Boula and Earl Dean Gordon pled guilty to three counts of mail fraud. 18 U.S.C. § 1341. Pursuant to the United States Sentencing Guidelines ("U.S.S.G." or "Guidelines"), the district court sentenced the defendants to 108 months imprisonment. The defendants appealed their sentences. In United States v. Boula, 932 F.2d 651 (7th Cir.1991) ("Boula I ")1, we vacated these sentences and remanded for resentencing because we deemed the district court's ten point upward departure in the defendants' base offense level excessive. The district court then resentenced the defendants to 62 months imprisonment and three years supervised release, and ordered each defendant to pay $5 million in restitution. These second sentences are the subject of the instant appeal. The district court, in a published order, explained its reasoning for imposing these sentences. 787 F.Supp. 819 (N.D.Ill.1992). The court explained that the base offense level for fraud, the crime for which the defendants were convicted, was six. U.S.S.G. § 2F1.1(a). Because the loss from the fraud was $7 million, the offense level was increased eleven points. U.S.S.G. § 2F1.1(b)(1)(L). Another two points were added since the crime involved "more than minimal planning" and "more than one victim". U.S.S.G. § 2F1.1(b)(2)(A) & (B). Since Boula and Gordon were both organizers or leaders of the criminal activity, the offense level was raised another four points. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a). The district court reduced the defendants' offense level by two points because they accepted responsibility for their crime. U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1. The defendants were left with an adjusted base offense level of twenty-one. The district court then ordered a three level upward departure in their sentences based on Application note 1 to § 2F1.1. That note states that "[i]f in a particular case ... several of the enumerated factors [in § 2F1.1(b)(2) ] applied, upward departure might be warranted." U.S.S.G. § 2F1.1, comment. (n.1). Since two of those factors were present in this case--the offense involved more than minimal planning and more than one victim was defrauded--the district court ordered the three-point upward departure.
"The defendants were originally sentenced in June of 1990, after the November 1989 amendments took effect. At that time this court applied the pre-1989 guidelines because applying the amendments would have increased the defendants' base offense level by 3 points (base offense level of 20 for loss in excess of 5,000,000 § 2F1.1) This retrospective application of an increased penalty is prohibited. See generally, Miller v. Florida, 482 U.S. 423, 107 S.Ct. 2446, 96 L.Ed.2d 351 (1987)."
Id. 787 F.Supp. at 822 n. 2 (emphas