Opinion ID: 216062
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sufficiency of Loss Calculation

Text: Borrasi argues that the district court did not make findings as to the loss amount sufficient to determine the appropriate level of his offense. Specifically, he contends that the district court should have given him more than the $150,000 credit it gave him for the value of the actual services he performed for Rock Creek. According to Borrasi, the district court's findings lacked the requisite specificity to deny him a greater discount based upon his objections to the PSR. The government argues that any credit was inappropriate and that the loss amount should have been the full amount listed in the PSR. Based on Borrasi's criminal conduct, the district court assessed his base offense level at 8 under U.S.S.G. § 2B4.1, Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery. That section requires augmenting the base offense level according to § 2B1.1, considering the value of benefits received through the crime. U.S.S.G. § 2B4.1(b)(1). After considering the PSR and arguments from both Borrasi and the government, the district court determined that Borrasi accepted bribes totaling $647,204, a sum that included the administrative salaries of Borrasi and his Integrated group, the value of the lease Rock Creek paid for Borrasi, and a portion of Baig's salary. Borrasi did not object to that calculation, but rather argued that he should have received a significant credit against that amount based on the 24-hour on-call services his team rendered, their membership and participation in Rock Creek committees, and various administrative services they provided to Rock Creek. The district court noted that the $647,204 loss amount corresponded to a 14-level increase. It then found that Borrasi had performed some valuable services for Rock Creek, but noted that it was difficult to measure the exact value of that benefit. The district court reduced the loss amount by $150,000 to compensate for the efforts of the various individuals which did in fact benefit the patients at [Rock Creek], and some adjustment for the availability 24 hours a day of certain medical personnel to be at the beck and call for the residents of [Rock Creek]. (Sent. Tr. 52.) This reduction did not change the offense level, see U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1, but did reduce the restitution required of Borrasi to $497,204. The loss amount calculated by the district court for sentencing is a factual determination, one which we review for clear error. United States v. Ali, 619 F.3d 713, 720 (7th Cir.2010). We will uphold the district court's loss calculation unless we are left with a definite and firm conviction that the district court made a mistake. United States v. Salem, 597 F.3d 877, 884 (7th Cir.2010). Our deference will not excuse an absence of findings altogether, id. at 886, but a court's findings need only be a reasonable estimate of the loss, United States v. Christianson, 586 F.3d 532, 537 (7th Cir.2009). Borrasi's burden of proof on appeal requires him to demonstrate that the district court's determination was inaccurate and outside the realm of permissible computations. Id. Borrasi argues that he must be resentenced because the district court's determination of how much to reduce the loss amountbased on the fair market value of the services he renderedwas not sufficiently detailed to constitute a reasonable estimate based on the evidence. He asserts that the district court did not identify the formula or methodology it used and thus did not provide the particularity required for sentencing determinations. We disagree with Borrasi's contention. The government proved the loss value to be $647,204. Borrasi did not object to that amount, and he bore the burden of providing substantiated evidence . . . to counter the government's explicit proof of loss. United States v. Gordon, 495 F.3d 427, 432 (7th Cir.2007). He needed to convincingly refute the government's proof with his own, but there was no testimony as to the value of the on-call services, and there was much evidence showing that the alleged administrative services were nonextant or de minimis. See United States v. Sensmeier, 361 F.3d 982, 989 (7th Cir.2004) ([W]hile we acknowledge that the burden is on the government to prove loss, the defendants' wholly unsubstantiated statements are not enough to undermine, nor even question, the court's acceptance of the government's proof of loss.). Were we to give effect to each of Borrasi's vague valuations, in fact, the credits for services rendered would have exceeded the total loss proven by the government. Ultimately, Borrasi has not met his heavy burden of proving that the district court's determination was outside the realm of permissible computations. United States v. Peterson-Knox, 471 F.3d 816, 822 (7th Cir.2006) ( quoting United States v. Lopez, 222 F.3d 428, 437 (7th Cir.2000)). The government arguesand from the cold record we are inclined to agreethat if anything, the district court was overly generous in crediting Borrasi with $150,000 because the services he allegedly rendered were either illusory or valueless. (Appellee's Br. at 36-37.) The district court gave Borrasi the benefit of the doubt by crediting his alleged services in any amount, and it is the district court's lack of specificity in doing so that he now attacks. Granted, the district court could have been more specific in discussing how it calculated the credit against the loss amount generated by Borrasi's criminal activities. But we have previously found such estimation reasonable to determine the loss amount for sentencing, notably in a fraud case in which factual complexities about the existence and value of medical services abounded. See United States v. Vivit, 214 F.3d 908, 914-16 (7th Cir.2000). Given the complexities of this Medicare fraud case, as well as the lack of evidence to establish the existence and value of any legitimately rendered services, we find the district court's estimate of the amount to credit Borrasi reasonable. The district court did not clearly err when it determined the loss value attributed to Borrasi's crime.