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Fraud Sentence Enhanced for Abuse of Trust
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines establish factors that a court is authorized to consider in imposing a sentence upon a criminal defendant, and assign numeric values to those factors in an effort to achieve some consistency in sentencing. Though the factors mostly stay the same, their precise parameters are constantly evolving. One evolving factor is the 'abuse of trust' or 'use of special skill' enhancement, described in the Guidelines under ' 3B1.3.
The abuse-of-trust enhancement provides that a defendant's sentence must be increased if the defendant 'abused a position of public or private trust, or used
a special skill, in a manner that significantly facilitated the commission or concealment of the offense ' ' The application notes suggest that there must be a personal relationship between the defendant and the victim, giving examples that appear to require something more than an ordinary business relationship: 'an embezzlement of a client's funds by an attorney serving as a guardian, a bank executive's fraudulent loan scheme, or the criminal sexual abuse of a patient by a physician under the guise of an examination.' 18 USCS Appx. ' 3B1.3 note 1.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.