Recent Updates
October 15, 2009
Consent to search inside of vehicle does not extend to locked containers
October 14, 2009
Making phone calls to get drugs for personal use not a felony
October 07, 2009
Duval County schools agree to reduce number of students getting arrested
October 07, 2009
High standard needed to get Orchestrator enhancement
October 01, 2009
Light Most Favorable to the State is not the Law
Federal Guidelines becoming tough on intended or potential economic losses
June 05, 2009
Topic: Criminal
Defendants in federal court can face a rude surprise when they are held criminally liabile for the potential economic loss to the victim as opposed to the actual loss. In United States v. Stetson, 202 Fed. Appx. 449 (11th Cir. 2006), the court held the defendants liable for an intended loss based on how much they could charge to fraudulently obtained credit cards before getting caught, instead of the amount they actually charged.
In a recent case, a client was charged as a co-conspirator in a bank fraud case where the co-defendants intended to take 48,000, but in the end the actual loss was only $3,995. Despite this fact, there was an eight level enhancement for the loss, which can raised the potential sentencing range of the client from 0-6 months to 8-14 months. In the end, the case will work out quite favorable for the client, but there is real danger to those charged with economic crimes in federal court.
