Source: https://m.openjurist.org/942/f2d/894
Timestamp: 2020-08-12 10:16:54
Document Index: 29108397

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 5324', '§ 2', '§ 1956', '§ 5324', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2']

942 F2d 894 United States v. Sanders | OpenJurist
942 F. 2d 894 - United States v. Sanders
942 F2d 894 United States v. Sanders
942 F.2d 894
Charles Earl SANDERS, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 91-8030
Defendant-appellant Charles Earl Sanders (Sanders) was convicted, pursuant to his guilty plea, of structuring transactions for the purpose of evading reporting requirements, in violation of 31 U.S.C. §§ 5324(3) and 5322(a). At sentencing, applying sections 2S1.3(a)(1)(A) and 2S1.3(b)(1) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG), the district court found Sanders to have known or believed the funds involved in the offense to be criminally derived property, accordingly increased his base offense level by 5 levels, and sentenced him to 37-months' imprisonment, a $6,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release. Sanders challenges the district court's findings that he knew the funds involved were criminally derived property and its subsequent application of USSG § 2S1.3(b)(1) to increase his base offense level by five levels. We reject Sanders' arguments and affirm the sentence imposed by the district court.
Sanders was originally charged, along with his son and codefendant Lee, in a six-count indictment. Counts one through four alleged laundering of money instruments in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and (B)(i); count five related to Lee only; count six provided for criminal forfeiture of real and personal property involved in the offenses. A superseding information charged the appellant with structuring transactions for the purpose of evading reporting requirements in violation of 31 U.S.C. §§ 5324(3) and 5322(a). Pursuant to a plea agreement, Sanders entered a guilty plea to the single count superseding information, and the government agreed to dismiss the original indictment as to the appellant at the time of sentencing.
The Presentence Report (PSR) established the base offense level at 13, and recommended adding 5 levels under § 2S1.3(b)(1) because Sanders knew or believed the funds involved in the offense were criminally derived property. Sanders' attorney objected to the entire section of the PSR describing the offense conduct, claiming that Sanders was not specifically involved with and had no knowledge of his son's alleged criminal activities, and denying that Sanders received any money from his son, or knew that any money involved in the offense was the product of illegal activities.2
On appeal, Sanders challenges the district court's findings and application of USSG § 2S1.3(b)(1) on essentially one ground. Sanders contends that there is no evidence that he received any criminally derived property or that he knew that the property he did receive was criminally derived, and therefore the district court erred in applying USSG 2S1.3(b)(1).
We begin by noting that we review application of the USSG fully for errors of law. See United States v. Morales-Vasquez, 919 F.2d 258, 263 (5th Cir.1990). Factual findings regarding sentencing factors, however, are entitled to considerable deference and will be reversed only if they are clearly erroneous. See id.; United States v. Franco-Torres, 869 F.2d 797, 800 (5th Cir.1989). A factual finding is not clearly erroneous as long as it is plausible in light of the record read as a whole. See United States v. Alfaro, 919 F.2d 962, 964 (5th Cir.1990); United States v. Fields, 906 F.2d 139, 142 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 200, 112 L.Ed.2d 162 (1990). The district court's determinations at sentencing are made under the preponderance of the evidence standard. See United States v. Casto, 889 F.2d 562, 569-70 (5th Cir.1989), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 1164, 107 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1990). "Sentences imposed as a result of incorrect application of the guidelines must be reversed." Morales-Vasquez, 919 F.2d at 263. We, however, find no such misapplication here.
The essence of Sanders' appeal is that the evidence was insufficient to warrant the five-level increase in sentencing level under USSG § 2S1.3(b)(1). USSG § 2S1.3 provides for a base offense level of:
Subsection (b)(1) allows an increase in the base level by five levels if "the defendant knew or believed that the funds were criminally derived property." Sanders argues that because the government has not proved the precise source of the funds, it has not met its burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the money involved in the offense was illegally derived or that Sanders knew that it was illegally derived.
While the government does have the burden of proving the facts necessary to support an increase in sentence level by a preponderance of the evidence, we conclude that the government has met that burden here. See Alfaro, 919 F.2d at 965. In Alfaro, this Circuit noted that "a presentence report generally bears sufficient indicia of reliability to be considered as evidence by the trial judge in making the factual determinations required by the sentencing guidelines." Id. at 966. The Court went on to express its doubts as to the reliability of defendant's objections to the PSR in the form of unsworn assertions because "[u]nsworn assertions do not bear 'sufficient indicia of reliability to support [their] probable accuracy', and, therefore, should not generally be considered by the trial court in making its factual findings." Id. (footnote omitted).
This conclusion is supported by the recent case of United States v. Hassan, 927 F.2d 303 (7th Cir.1991). In Hassan, a case with somewhat analogous facts, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's five-level increase in the base offense level under USSG § 2S1.3(b)(1). The defendant in Hassan claimed that she did not know or believe that the money involved in the offense was criminally derived, and she challenged the factual findings of the district court in support of its five-level increase in base offense level. Id. at 306. The Seventh Circuit pointed out that the district court considered many factors before determining that Hassan knew or believed the money was criminally derived, and that the record indicated that the information the court relied on was sufficiently reliable and properly considered. Id. at 308-09. Factors that the court considered in increasing the base offense level included: a series of large deposits to and withdrawals from her bank accounts; money transactions that were frequently in cash in denominations smaller than $100; periods in which she deposited three times as much money in her bank account as she earned during that period; and a search of her person that revealed $4,000 in cash hidden in her underwear. Id. at 306. The Seventh Circuit noted that "Hassan did not present evidence to refute the evidence presented by the government, despite having the opportunity to do so." Id. at 309.
Having found Sanders' complaints of the district court's application of USSG § 2S1.3(b)(1) to be without merit, we accordingly affirm his conviction and sentence.
We note that Sanders' reliance on United States v. Mourning, 914 F.2d 699 (5th Cir.1990), is misplaced; that decision, which upheld a § 2S1.3(b)(1) enhancement, does not in any way support his contentions that the evidence here is insufficient for that purpose