United States v. Katrina Brown

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

United States v. Katrina Brown

Opinion

USCA11 Case: 20-14254 Date Filed: 11/19/2021 Page: 1 of 3

[DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 20-14254 ____________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus KATRINA BROWN, REGINALD BROWN,

Defendant-Appellant.

____________________

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 3:18-cr-00089-MMH-JRK-1 ____________________ USCA11 Case: 20-14254 Date Filed: 11/19/2021 Page: 2 of 3

2 Opinion of the Court 20-14254

Before WILSON, LAGOA, and ED CARNES, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: A grand jury indicted Appellants Katrina Brown and Re- ginald Brown for crimes relating to their conspiracy to fraudulently obtain and divert to funds from a loan backed by the Small Business Administration and a grant from the City of Jacksonville. The 38-count indictment charged each Appellant with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349; 13 counts of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341; 13 counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; and 6 counts of illegal monetary transactions, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957. The indictment also charged Katrina Brown with two counts of attempted bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1349, and two counts of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014. The indictment further charged Reginald Brown with one count of fail- ing to file a tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203. Following a trial that spanned ten days, a jury convicted Katrina Brown of all the charges against her and Reginald Brown of all but one of the charges against him. The district court sen- tenced Katrina Brown to 33 months’ imprisonment and Reginald Brown to 18 months’ imprisonment. Both timely appealed. On appeal, Katrina Brown challenges three of the district court’s procedural actions at trial and two of its determinations USCA11 Case: 20-14254 Date Filed: 11/19/2021 Page: 3 of 3

20-14254 Opinion of the Court 3

related to her sentencing. With respect to Katrina’s procedural challenges, she argues the district court erred in: (1) allowing clos- ing arguments to proceed despite the absence of standby counsel appointed for Katrina, who proceeded pro se; (2) denying Katrina’s motions to sever her trial from her co-defendant, Reginald; and (3) permitting the government to make a reference in its closing argu- ment that “taxpayer money” was being spent on Brown’s fraudu- lent scheme. With respect to her challenges about her sentencing, Katrina argues the district court erred in determining that (1) her intended loss amount was $535,335.68 [D.E. 493 at 59] under the United States Sentencing Guidelines and (2) her forfeiture and res- titution amount was $425,335.68 [D.E. 447 at 5]. Reginald Brown challenges two of the district court’s proce- dural actions at trial and two of its determinations related to his sentencing. With respect to Brown’s procedural challenges, he ar- gues that the district court erred in (1) denying his motions to sever his trial from his co-defendant, Katrina, and (2) denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal. Reginald Brown also argues that, at sentencing, the district court erred in (1) applying the sophisticated means enhancement and (2) denying his request for the minor role reduction. After a thorough review of the record and the parties’ briefs, and with the benefit of oral argument, we find that the Appellants’ arguments lack merit, and we affirm their convictions and sen- tences. AFFIRMED.

Reference

Status
Unpublished