Opinion ID: 766492
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Calculation of Fraud Loss under U.S.S.G. S 2F1.1

Text: 66 Section 2F1.1(a) of the Sentencing Guidelines establishes a base offense level of six for offenses involving fraud and deceit. See U.S.S.G. S 2F1.1. 8 Pursuant to Section 2F.1.1(b), the base offense level must be increased according to the size of the loss. This Court's precedents establish that  `fraud loss is, in the first instance, the amount of money the victim has actually lost,'  United States v. Coyle, 63 F.3d 1239, 1250-51 (3d Cir. 1995) (quoting United States v. Kopp, 951 F.2d 521, 523, 536 (3d Cir. 1991)). However, if an intended loss that the defendant was attempting to inflict can be determined, this figure will be used if it is greater than actual loss. Application Note 7 to U.S.S.G. S 2F1.1. While the greater of actual loss and intended loss is the preferred measure, there are situations in which the defendant's gain can appropriately be used as a measurement of loss. A court may look to a defendant's gain as an alternative measure but only [w]hen if it is not feasible to estimate with reasonable accuracy the victim's loss [or intended loss] and where there is some logical relationship between the victim's loss and the defendant's gain so that the latter can reasonably serve as a surrogate for the former. United States v. Dickler, 64 F.3d 818, 826 (3d Cir. 1995) (indicating, by way of example, that proceeds from resale of object taken could provide estimate of loss because sale would establish approximate market value of object). Additionally, the loss need not be determined with precision. The Court need only make a reasonable estimate of the loss given the available information. Application Note 8 to U.S.S.G. S 2F1.1. 67 The relevant conduct provision of the Sentencing Guidelines, S 1B1.3, provides that specific offense characteristics, -in this instance the loss amount that should be attributed to the defendant under S 2F1.1, -are to be determined on the basis of the following: 68 (1) (A) all acts and omissions committed, aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, or willfully caused by the defendant; and 69 (B) in the case of a jointly undertaken criminal activity (a criminal plan, scheme, endeavor, or enterprise undertaken by the defendant in concert with others, whether or not charged as a conspiracy), all reasonably foreseeable acts and omissions of others in furtherance of the jointly undertaken criminal activity, that occurred during the commission of the offense of conviction, in preparation for that offense, or in the course of attempting to avoid detection or responsibility for that offense; 70