United States Ninth Circuit

A sentence for wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion is affirmed over claims that the district court: 1) erroneously calculated the amount of loss for sentencing purposes; 2) employed the wrong standard of proof in arriving at its loss calculation; 3) erroneously included $13 million dollars of money that he returned to investors when it calculated that he had laundered $78 million; 4) erred in enhancing his sentence for using "sophisticated means"; 5) erred in imposing a two-level enhancement based on his involvement of another person in his scheme; 6) erred in imposing a sentence enhancement for obstruction of justice; and 7) imposed an unreasonable sentence and failed to properly account for the 18 U.S.C. section 3553(a) factors.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/28/2008
• Published 02/28/2008

Judges

• WALLACE, Senior Circuit Judge:, Before:  J. CLIFFORD WALLACE, SANDRA S. IKUTA, and N. RANDY SMITH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Frank J. Ragen, Julie A. Blair, and Michael Pancer, San Diego, CA, for the appellant James Garro.


• For Appellees:
  
• Karen P. Hewitt, United States Attorney, Bruce R. Castetter and Mark R. Rehe, Assistant United States Attorneys, San Diego, CA, for appellee the United States.