United States v. Augare

Defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. 372, False Claims Act conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. 286, theft from an Indian tribe receiving federal funding in violation of 18 U.S.C. 666(a)(1)(A), and federal income tax evasion in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7201. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's application of the “sophisticated means” sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2B1.1(b)(10)(C). The court concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in applying the enhancement where, in this case, the coordinated and repetitive steps that defendant took to transfer money from the Po’Ka project to his personal bank account are comparable in complexity and sophistication to the schemes held to warrant a “sophisticated means” enhancement in both the court's precedent and persuasive authority from other circuits. View "United States v. Augare" on Justia Law