Opinion ID: 4538432
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Leader enhancement

Text: The four-point leader enhancement applies when the defendant “was an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive . . . .” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1. The factors a court must consider in determining whether a defendant is a leader for purposes of the enhancement include: the exercise of decision making authority, the nature of participation in the commission of the offense, the recruitment of accomplices, the claimed right to a larger share of the fruits of the crime, the degree of participation in planning or organizing the offense, the nature and scope of the illegal activity, and the degree of control and authority exercised over others. Ayelotan, 917 F.3d at 406 (cleaned up) (citing U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1 cmt. 4). A district court may apply the enhancement even if there is more than one “leader” of the criminal activity. Id. Here, Maes has failed to show that the district court plainly erred in applying this enhancement. As the district court carefully articulated: In this case, Mr. Maes did exercise decision- making authority in terms of he controlled the supply of the methamphetamine and determined when it could be shipped. He organized and participated in the sense that he was obtaining the methamphetamine, packaging it, shipping it, and was also sending bank account information in order for deposits to be made to pay for this activity. He recruited other individuals to supply this bank information to him in some instances 16 Case: 18-60881 Document: 00515438067 Page: 17 Date Filed: 06/02/2020 No. 18-60881 so he could use other accounts to try and hide some of the activity. And this was the subject of the money laundering counts, but it was all connected to the drug conspiracy and the shipment of the drugs. He was receiving large sums of money for these shipments of methamphetamine. And the nature and scope of the illegal activity, it was broad, it was surreptitious and designed to conceal. There were several layers that were used to conceal the activity, and it went on for a period of time. So I think when I look at the record here and evaluate all the factors, certainly by a preponderance of the evidence, they support the conclusion that the four-level enhancement is appropriate. We agree with the district court’s trenchant analysis and affirm because its analysis is supported by the record. Maes failed to demonstrate that the court’s analysis was based on an erroneous view of the record or application of the law. We therefore hold that Maes has failed to show that the district court plainly erred in calculating his Guidelines range.