Opinion ID: 3165722
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State Criminal Convictions

Text: In August 1995, a Florida jury convicted Petitioner of 238 offenses involving racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and grand theft. The offenses, which all related to Petitioner’s involvement in a Ponzi scheme, were committed between June 3, 1989, and April 13, 1994. Following the jury’s verdict, the Florida court sentenced Petitioner to a total of 45 years’ imprisonment and 25 years’ probation. Petitioner was taken into custody by the FDOC on August 22, 1995. 2 Case: 14-14432 Date Filed: 12/28/2015 Page: 3 of 8 During the course of Petitioner’s criminal enterprise, the Florida legislature enacted a statute that provided that basic gain-time 1 could only be applied to sentences for offenses committed on or after July 1, 1978, and before January 1, 1994. See Fla. Stat. § 944.275(6)(a). The FDOC initially applied basic gain-time to Petitioner’s sentences for racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering based on its determination that the date of his offenses for basic gain-time purposes was the date he commenced the offenses—June 3, 1989. However, in 2002, the Florida Supreme Court issued the opinion in Young v. Moore, 820 So. 2d 901 (Fla. 2002), which stated that, for purposes of gain-time, the date of commission for a continuing felony should be the date of the last overt act in furtherance of the felony. See id. at 903 n.4. On September 16, 2005, the FDOC audited Petitioner’s sentences in light of Young, and determined that his racketeering offenses were committed on the date the offenses ended—April 3, 1994. Because Petitioner’s racketeering offenses continued after January 1, 1994, the FDOC determined that he was not entitled to basic gain-time. As a result, the FDOC canceled his basic gain-time credits. 1 Pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 944.275, the FDOC is authorized to grant deductions in prisoners’ sentences in the form of gain-time. Fla. Stat. § 944.275(1). The statute provides that the FDOC “shall grant basic gain-time at the rate of 10 days for each month of each sentence imposed on a prisoner.” See id. § 944.275(4)(a). 3 Case: 14-14432 Date Filed: 12/28/2015 Page: 4 of 8