U.S. v. Johnson, 92-3318
| Citation | 993 F.2d 1358 |
| Decision Date | 25 May 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-3318,92-3318 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Janet Rebecca JOHNSON, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) |
John D. Griffith, Asst. U.S. Atty., Des Moines, IA, argued, for plaintiff-appellant.
Steven A. Kloberdanz, Marshalltown, IA, argued, for defendant-appellee.
Before WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge, FLOYD R. GIBSON, Senior Circuit Judge and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.
The government appeals the district court's 1 denial of an additional three-level sentencing enhancement under United States Sentencing Guideline ("U.S.S.G.") § 2B1.1 due to Janet Johnson's misapplication of credit union funds. We affirm.
Johnson was an employee of the Lennox Credit Union of Marshalltown, Iowa from September 1977 until August, 1991. During an internal investigation in August 1991, Johnson called the credit union and admitted that she had embezzled funds from credit union accounts. Johnson then pled guilty to one count of embezzlement and misapplication of credit union funds by a credit union employee in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 657. In the stipulation of facts, Johnson admitted to embezzling $88,483.41 and misapplying $318,915. Johnson misapplied the funds by transferring money from one credit union account to another credit union account. The district court sentenced Johnson under § 2B1.1 of the Guidelines on September 11, 1992. The court computed Johnson's total offense level at 14, based upon a base offense level of four, an eight-level increase because the loss amounted to over $70,000, a two-level increase for more than minimal planning, a two-level increase for abuse of trust, and a two-level reduction based on acceptance of responsibility. Based on Johnson's adjusted base offense level of 14, the district court sentenced Johnson to 15 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release.
The government argues the court erred in not increasing Johnson's offense level by eleven levels based on the total amount of "loss" to the credit union. The government argues that the proper amount of loss was $407,398.41, which includes the $88,483 in embezzled funds and the $318,915 in misapplied funds. We disagree. "Loss" is defined as "the value of the property taken, damaged, or destroyed." U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1, comment. (n. 2). "The value of property taken plays an important role in determining...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
U.S. v. Lange
...that the punishment for theft offenses should increase with the amount of loss caused by the criminal conduct. See United States v. Johnson, 993 F.2d 1358, 1359 (8th Cir.1993). Lange cites no authority for the astonishing proposition that an employee is entitled to this kind of credit if th......
-
U.S. v. French, s. 94-1933
...evidence as to whether any such statements were made, this is a matter for the jury to decide.7 For this reason, United States v. Johnson, 993 F.2d 1358 (8th Cir.1993), is distinguishable. In Johnson, the defendant "took" $88,483 from a bank, and "misapplied" some $318,915 more. In Johnson,......