Criminal Law: Passing Counterfeit Securities-Restitution-Intended-Loss Calculation

Defendant pleaded guilty to passing counterfeit securities. The district court sentenced defendant to 120 months of incarceration and ordered him to pay $55,000 in restitution. On appeal, defendant argued that the intended-loss calculation was too high and that the restitution amount should have been lower.

Where the record demonstrated that defendant attempted to secure a private-jet contract for which he did not intend to pay, the district court correctly made the intended-loss calculation and calculation of restitution based on defendant’s bad checks.

Judgment is affirmed.

U.S. v. Smith (MLW No. 73508/Case No. 18-3221 – 5 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Stras, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas, Brooks, J. (Anna Marie Williams, AFPD, of Fayetteville, AR for appellant) (Amy M. Driver, AUSA, of Fort Smith, AR for appellee)