Opinion ID: 2650462
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Causation of loss

Text: Finally, if Benns is to be held accountable through relevant conduct for losses to mortgage lenders caused by default and foreclosure, his criminal acts must have actually caused these losses. See, e.g., United States v. Randall, 157 F.3d 328, 331 (5th Cir. 1998) (“Before a court may attribute losses to a defendant’s fraudulent conduct, there must be some factual basis for the conclusion that those losses were the result of fraud.”) (quotation and brackets omitted). Although it is certainly possible that Benns’ allegedly fraudulent 10 Case: 12-51038 Document: 00512507341 Page: 11 Date Filed: 01/21/2014 No. 12-51038 conduct caused the foreclosure losses, this is not obvious from the record. The PSR explains that Benns targeted owners of distressed homes who may have been facing imminent foreclosure, which suggests that Benns’ actions did not necessarily cause or even exacerbate the lenders’ losses. Of course, causation is a factual question that we do not purport to answer; we merely emphasize the need for the district court to address causation in its findings.5