United States v. Troyer

• Citation: 677 F.3d 356
• Decision Date: 09 May 2012
• Docket Number: No. 11–3134.,11–3134.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Bruce Lynn TROYER, Appellant.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

677 F.3d 356

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,

v.Bruce Lynn TROYER, Appellant.

No. 11–3134.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: March 15, 2012.Filed: May 3, 2012.As Corrected: May 9, 2012.

John Bishop, argued and on the brief, Cedar Rapids, IA, for appellant.

Teresa Baumann, AUSA, argued and on the brief, Cedar Rapids, IA, for appellee.

Before WOLLMAN and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges, and HICKEY,¹ District Judge.COLLOTON, Circuit Judge.

Bruce Troyer pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1028A, respectively. The district court ² sentenced him to 27 months' imprisonment on the wire fraud charge and the mandatory consecutive sentence of 24 months on the aggravated identity theft charge, for a total sentence of 51 months' imprisonment. Troyer appeals his sentence, and we affirm.

I.

From about August 2008 to September 2009, Troyer worked as the office manager at a physician's office. As part of his employment, Troyer was entrusted with a credit card account in his name but was authorized to use it only for office-related expenses. Troyer exceeded his authority by charging to the account various personal expenses, including purchases at casinos, hotels, electronics stores, limousine service providers, restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores. To mask his wrongdoing, Troyer concealed the monthly statements from his employers and initiated automatic payments to the credit card account from the office's checking account. Troyer also used the name of one of the physicians at his office to increase the account's credit limit and forged checks using signature stamps for “petty cash” to withdraw money from the office's bank account. All told, Troyer stole over $100,000.

A grand jury charged Troyer with ten counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Troyer's activities while on pre-trial release figured in his sentencing, so we recount them here. After the court released Troyer on a personal recognizance bond, he was arrested in Clayton County, Iowa, for driving with a suspended license and failing to carry a registration card or liability coverage, and his car was towed. The next day, Troyer called the manager of the towing company, claimed that “all the charges were dropped,” and told him he would arrive later in the day to reclaim his vehicle. When the manager returned from lunch, he found Troyer's vehicle gone and contacted law enforcement. The manager was owed $15 for overnight storage fees. In connection with his arrest for driving on a suspended license, Troyer was ordered to attend a hearing on May 11, 2011, but he failed to appear, later contending that he was never notified that his attendance was required. Although he had signed an appearance bond advising him of the hearing, Troyer asserted that he misunderstood the order.

On June 14, 2011, Troyer provided a urine sample that tested positive for the presence of amphetamines. Troyer denied using illegal drugs and suggested that the positive test was the result of his work as a confidential informant with the Clayton County Sheriff's Office and his exposure to a person who had been smoking methamphetamine. The pretrial officer assigned to Troyer had not authorized his work as a confidential informant, and a warrant was eventually issued for Troyer's arrest. During a hearing on the alleged violation of pretrial release conditions, Troyer admitted to smoking methamphetamine and acknowledged that the use was unrelated to any cooperation with law enforcement. The court ordered Troyer detained pending trial.

Troyer eventually pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement. In exchange for Troyer's plea to one count of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, the government moved to dismiss the remaining nine counts of wire fraud. Based on Troyer's criminal history category IV and his offense level of 14, the presentence investigation report recommended an advisory guideline range of 27 to 33 months' imprisonment on the wire fraud charge. The aggravated identity theft count carried a statutory minimum 24 months' imprisonment to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed.

Based on assistance that Troyer provided in the investigation and prosecution of certain matters, the government moved pursuant to USSG § 5K1.1 for a downward departure under the advisory guidelines, and recommended a 25–percent departure from the bottom of the advisory range. Troyer's counsel cited other instances of Troyer's ongoing cooperation with law enforcement officials and argued that the extraordinary nature of Troyer's assistance merited a reduction of 50 to 60 percent.

The district court granted the motion and announced that it would depart six months from the top of Troyer's advisory guideline range of 27 to 33 months, for an ultimate guideline sentence of 27 months on the wire fraud count. The court then imposed that term of 27 months, plus a mandatory consecutive sentence of 24 months for aggravated identity theft, for a total of 51 months' imprisonment.

II.

Troyer argues on appeal that the district court committed procedural error at sentencing when it determined the extent of the downward departure under § 5K1.1. Because Troyer did not object at sentencing, we review for plain error. To establish a plain error warranting relief, Troyer must show that the district court committed an error that is clear or obvious, that the error affected his substantial rights, and that the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993). The error must be obvious under current law at the time of appellate consideration, Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461, 468, 117 S.Ct. 1544, 137 L.Ed.2d 718 (1997), and the error must be clear on the record in the district court. See United States v. Draffin, 286 F.3d 606, 610 (D.C.Cir.2002). The plain error rule “serves to induce the timely raising of claims and objections, which gives the district court the opportunity to consider and resolve them.” Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 134, 129 S.Ct. 1423, 173 L.Ed.2d 266 (2009). If a record is ambiguous, then a party potentially aggrieved must object and afford the district court an opportunity to clarify the ruling or to correct any mistake that may have occurred. Otherwise, an appeal will fail for lack of an obvious error at the second step of plain-error analysis. In re Sealed Case No. 98–3116, 199 F.3d 488, 491 (D.C.Cir.1999) (“To hold ... that a record at worst ambiguous supports reversal is hardly consistent with plain error review.”).

A.

Troyer first contends that, in determining the extent of departure under § 5K1.1, the district court impermissibly considered factors unrelated to his assistance to law enforcement. A district court is limited to assistance-related considerations when deciding the extent of a departure under § 5K1.1. United States v. Pepper, 412 F.3d 995, 998 (8th Cir.2005). According to Troyer, the district court impermissibly limited the extent of his departure because of the court's antipathy toward him and the nature of his offense. In support of his contention, Troyer points to the district court's explanation for why it was “difficult” to grant the government's substantial-assistance motion:

[T]he reason it's difficult is, Mr. Troyer is a repeat cheat, liar, and a person who is [one] who will do anything to get money out of folks. When you think about white-collar crime, it's about the only crime I can think of where crime pays. Because here you have a man—this is his second fraudulent scheme where he gets money out of people. The first was a securities fraud with individuals, and the loss was $240,000. And I can't...