United States Court of Appeals
                             FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
                                    ___________

                                    No. 98-1252
                                    ___________

United States of America,                *
                                         *
              Appellee,                  *
                                         * Appeal from the United States
      v.                                 * District Court for the
                                         * Western District of Arkansas.
Ricky Lamb,                              *    [UNPUBLISHED]
                                         *
              Appellant.                 *
                                    ___________

                            Submitted: May 14, 1998

                                Filed: May 19, 1998
                                    ___________

Before BOWMAN, Chief Judge, WOLLMAN, and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD,
      Circuit Judges.
                             ___________

PER CURIAM.

       Ricky Ellis Lamb appeals the 30-month sentence imposed on him by the district
court1 after he pleaded guilty to committing mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 1341. We affirm.




      1
      The Honorable Jimm Larry Hendren, United States District Judge for the
Western District of Arkansas.
       A state investigation of Lamb&s sewing machine business revealed that most
customers did not receive the machines they had purchased and that those who did
receive machines found that they were defective or of a generic brand. Lamb&s
business eventually filed for bankruptcy, and Lamb was indicted on federal fraud
charges arising from his business practices. At sentencing, the district court determined
that the amount of loss exceeded $200,000. Lamb now challenges that calculation.

       We conclude that the district court did not clearly err in its loss determination.
See United States v. Dolan, 

, 870 (8th Cir. 1997) (standard of review).
In response to Lamb&s objection, the government presented evidence, in the form of
testimony and the business&s bankruptcy schedules, which showed that more than
$200,000 was owed to creditors who had made a partial payment on, or paid in full for,
a sewing machine. See United States v. Wells, 

, 745 (8th Cir. 1997)
(government must prove extent of loss by preponderance of evidence). The district
court was free to credit this evidence and to reject Lamb&s unsupported testimony that
the amount of loss was only $44,000. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2F1.1
(n.8) (1997) (amount of loss need not be determined with precision; court need only
make reasonable estimate of loss based on available information); 

(credibility determinations made by court in determining loss are virtually
unassailable on appeal).

      The judgment is affirmed.

      A true copy.

             Attest:

                     CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.




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