Topic
Every decision we've filed under Fraud.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a thirty-six-month sentence for bank fraud and money laundering, rejecting the defendant's challenges to the sentencing guidelines calculations. The court found no plain error in the district court's application of the mass-marketing enhancement and its denial of a minor-role reduction.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a bankruptcy court ruling that unpaid salaries owed to former employees are nondischargeable in bankruptcy. The court held that the debtor forfeited a key statutory defense by failing to raise it in the lower court and failed to meet the high burden of proving plain error.
The Third Circuit affirmed Christopher Miller's sentence for bank fraud and identity theft, ruling that while the District Court erred in its legal analysis of the Sentencing Guidelines, the mistake was harmless. The appellate court held that applying the correct ambiguity standard still supported the five-participant enhancement based on the aggregate involvement of participants and non-participants.
The First Circuit affirmed the prison sentences and multi-million dollar forfeiture orders imposed on the Ponzo brothers for their bribery and fraud schemes involving the Mass Save program. The court rejected arguments regarding sentencing guideline calculations, enhancements, and the constitutionality of the forfeiture amounts, finding the district court's decisions supported by the evidence.
The First Circuit affirmed the sentences and multi-million dollar forfeiture orders against the Ponzo brothers, rejecting their challenges to sentencing enhancements and the calculation of criminal proceeds. The court held that the brothers' elaborate bribery scheme involving Mass Save contractors justified the prison terms and forfeiture amounts under federal law.
The First Circuit affirmed the sentences and forfeiture orders of the Ponzo brothers, who orchestrated a massive bribery scheme involving the Mass Save energy program. The court rejected arguments regarding sentencing miscalculations and the constitutionality of the multi-million dollar forfeiture, upholding the penalties as reasonable and supported by the evidence.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the convictions and sentences of three defendants involved in a large-scale credit card fraud scheme. The court rejected challenges regarding evidence sufficiency, the reasonableness of sentences, and a sentencing enhancement for managerial roles.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal on a wire fraud count, ruling that sufficient circumstantial evidence supported the conviction despite the victim's failure to testify. The court held that evidence linking the defendant to a shell company and his use of an alias was enough for a jury to infer intent and the use of interstate wires in the fraud scheme.
The Seventh Circuit held that the Internal Revenue Service may assess and collect criminal restitution as a civil tax liability under 26 U.S.C. § 6201(a)(4)(A), even when doing so accelerates payment beyond the original criminal sentencing schedule. The court affirmed the Tax Court's rejection of the taxpayer's challenge, ruling that Congress intended to empower the IRS to enforce restitution for tax-related crimes to ensure full recovery of Treasury losses.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Kimberly Kiehl's conviction and sentence, ruling that her prior failure to object to the magistrate judge's report waived her challenge to the voluntariness of her guilty plea. The court further held that the sentence appeal waiver was enforceable because the magistrate judge explicitly explained its scope during the plea colloquy.