United States v. Builes
United States v. Builes
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM-DECISION and ORDER
I. BACKGROUND
On February 6, 1992, Carlos Builes was indicted by a grand jury sitting in the Northern District of New York. Count One charged Builes with transporting more than $10,000 in U.S. currency from Canada to the United States, and willfully failing to file a report of that international transportation of currency, in violation of 31 U.S.C. §§ 5316, 5322(a). Count Two charged Builes with falsely denying that he was carrying more than $10,000 in U.S. currency, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001.
Trial commenced on June 1, 1992, in Wa-tertown, New York. The evidence at trial established that Builes smuggled $240,000 in
Base Offense Level 9 Enhancement for Value of the Fund ($240,000) + 2
Enhancement for knowledge/belief that funds were criminally derived + 4 Enhancement for knowledge/belief that funds were intended for illegal purpose + 4
Total Offense Level 19
Total Offense Level 19 carries with it a sentencing range of 30 to 37 months, and this Court sentenced Builes to a term of imprisonment of 30 months. The sentence was later affirmed on appeal by the Second Circuit.
Since then, the U.S. Sentencing Commission amended the Sentencing Guidelines (“the 1993 Guideline”) and § 2S1.4 was deleted by consolidation with § 2S1.3. The result of the amendment affects Builes’ sentence in three significant ways. First, the 1993 Guideline reduces the base offense level from 9 to 6. Second, the 1993 Guideline reduces the enhancement based on knowledge or belief that the funds were criminally derived or intended to promote unlawful activity from 8 to 2. Third, the 1993 Guideline changes the table to be consulted from the money laundering table
Both parties agree that the amended section is to be applied retroactively. See United States v. Colon, 961 F.2d 41, 45 (2d Cir. 1992); United States v. Park, 951 F.2d 634, 635 (5th Cir. 1992).
II. DISCUSSION
18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) provides:
The court may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed except that— ... (2) in the case of a defendant who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 994(o), upon motion of the defendant ... the court may reduce the term of imprisonment, after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable, if such reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.
Both parties agree that the sentence should be modified pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). The only dispute between the parties relates to the amount of money to be used in determining the enhancement for the “value of the funds.”
The defendant contends that “value of funds” should be defined as the amount of funds involved in the reporting requirement of the statute under which the defendant was convicted. He cites to the Application Note to Amended § 2S1.3 for this proposition. A closer examination of the Application Note, however, does not support such a contention.
III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons discussed herein, it is hereby
ORDERED, that Petitioner’s motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3582 is granted in accordance to the terms stated herein; and it is hereby
ORDERED, that a new sentence hearing be conducted on a future date to be determined by the Court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
. Pre-amended § 2S1.4 stated: “If the value of funds exceeded $100,000, increase the offense level as specified in § 2S1.1(b)(2).” § 2S 1.1 (b)(2) is the money laundering table.
. The new § 2S1.3(a) states: Base Offense Level: 6 plus the number of offense level from the table in § 2F1.1 (Fraud and Deceit) corresponding to the value of the funds." (emphasis added).
. The Government contends that the Total Offense Level should be 16 broken down as follows:
Base Offense Level 6
Value of Funds ($240,000) + 8 Knew/Believed Funds were Unlawful Proceeds + 2
Total Offense Level 16
Defendant Builes contends otherwise. He contends that the Total Offense Level should be 10 broken down as follows:
Base Offense Level
+ 2 Value of Funds ($10,000) Knew/Believed Funds were Unlawful Proceeds 4-
Total Offense Level 10
. The defendant quotes § 2S1.3 as stating that the “value of funds” is defined as "... the amount of the funds involved in the structuring or reporting requirement." Plaintiff's Affidavit p. 3 note 2. The correct reading is “reporting conduct” and not "reporting requirement.”
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Carlos BUILES
- Status
- Published