EBEL, Circuit Judge.
Defendant-Appellant Neil Vigil was arrested after police pulled him over and found in his car a vast cache of counterfeit identifications and other materials indicative of identity theft. Mr. Vigil ultimately reached a plea deal with the government. At sentencing, the district court applied a two-level enhancement under Section 2B1.1(b)(4) of the Sentencing Guidelines, which provides for such an enhancement where "the offense involved receiving stolen property, and the defendant was a person in the business of receiving and selling stolen property" (the "ITB Enhancement"). The district court also imposed a $10,000 fine over Mr. Vigil's objection, despite the finding in the Presentence Report that Mr. Vigil did not appear able to pay a fine.
Mr. Vigil contends that the district court erred in both applying the enhancement and imposing the fine. First, Mr. Vigil argues that the ITB Enhancement only applies where a defendant actually has sold stolen property, and there is no evidence that he ever sold stolen property in this case. Second, Mr. Vigil argues that imposition of the fine was improper in light of his inability to pay a fine and his obligation to pay restitution. For the reasons discussed below, we reverse the district court's application of the enhancement and imposition of the fine, vacate Mr. Vigil's sentence, and remand for resentencing.
On July 18, 2009, Mr. Vigil was pulled over by an officer from the Cedar City, Utah, Police Department. During a search of the car, the officer found extensive evidence of identity theft, including hundreds of cashed and uncashed checks, several driver's licenses of other individuals, counterfeit identifications showing Mr. Vigil's picture, numerous counterfeit checks, a large volume of check-stock and photo paper, a knife, pearl pigment, spray glue, and a wallet belonging to one theft victim, "R.L." The officer also found four laptop computers and electronic storage devices, which, as a subsequent search revealed, contained (1) over 200 jail booking photos and/or driver's license photos of other individuals; (2) over 500 scanned
Subsequent investigation revealed that R.L.'s wallet had been stolen from a Gold's Gym locker, and that Mr. Vigil had used R.L.'s identity to obtain credit cards from Cabelas and Best Buy. Mr. Vigil then used those cards to make various purchases and obtain a $1,000 cash advance. The investigation also revealed that Mr. Vigil had used another victim's identification to negotiate a counterfeit check at Zions Bank in Logan, Utah, and to open an account and receive cash back at a Wells Fargo branch. During a police interview, Mr. Vigil admitted that in addition to stealing checks from mail boxes and wallets from gym lockers, he purchased information stolen by others.
On November 24, 2009, Mr. Vigil was indicted on seven counts of fraudulent conduct. He ultimately pled guilty to three counts: (1) access device fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(5); (2) aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a); and (3) possession of stolen mail, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1708.
With respect to the access-device-fraud and possession-of-stolen-mail counts, the Presentence Investigation Report ("PSR") calculated Mr. Vigil's offense level to be 17, which included, inter alia, a base-offense level of six (U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(a)(2)); a six-level enhancement for an offense involving 250 or more victims (the "Victim Enhancement") (U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(2)(C)); and a two-level enhancement under the ITB Enhancement. With respect to the aggravated-identity-theft count, the PSR noted that the Guideline sentence is the term of imprisonment required by 18 U.S.C. § 1028A—in this case, a two-year consecutive sentence.
The PSR calculated Mr. Vigil's criminal-history category to be VI, based on 19 criminal-history points. Accordingly, the PSR calculated Mr. Vigil's Guideline range to be 51-63 months for the access-device-fraud and possession-of-stolen-mail counts, and 24 months for the aggravated-identity-theft count, for a total range of 75-87 months.
The PSR also recommended ordering restitution in the amount of $15,642.91 (including $2,717.19 to Cabelas; $3,918.62 to Best Buy; $7,455.10 to Zions Bank; and $1,552 to Wells Fargo). Although the PSR described several jobs held by Mr. Vigil in the past, with pay ranging from $6.50 to $17 per hour, the PSR concluded that he did not appear to have the ability to pay a fine due to his apparent lack of income or assets.
In his sentencing memorandum, Mr. Vigil objected to the PSR's application of the Victim and ITB Enhancements. Mr. Vigil also contended that the restitution amount was limited to Cabelas's loss of $2,717.19, because the other losses described in the PSR stemmed from conduct underlying counts that were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement and thus not subject to restitution.
At sentencing, Mr. Vigil and the government agreed that the number of "victims" that could be taken into account for the purposes of the Victim Enhancement was actually ten, and thus that the Victim Enhancement provided for a two-level increase instead of a six-level increase. The parties also agreed that under the plea agreement, restitution was limited to $2,717.19. However, the parties disagreed about the applicability of the ITB Enhancement. Mr. Vigil argued that while
The court rejected Mr. Vigil's argument and applied the ITB Enhancement, concluding that the totality of the circumstances indicated that the enhancement applied:
(Record on Appeal ("ROA"), vol. ii at 13.)
Accordingly, the court found that with respect to the access-device-fraud and possession-of-stolen-mail counts, Mr. Vigil's offense level was 13 (reflecting the four-point reduction in the Victim Enhancement). Coupled with a criminal-history category of VI, this yielded a Guideline range of 33-41 months. Although Mr. Vigil argued for a sentence of 33 months on all counts, the court rejected Mr. Vigil's request and applied the two-year sentence on the aggravated-identity-theft count consecutively to the high end of the Guideline range on the other counts, for a total of 65 months.
The court then ordered restitution of $15,642.91, the amount set forth in the PSR. However, Mr. Vigil again objected that only Cabelas's loss of $2,717.19 could be subject to restitution, as the other losses stemmed from conduct underlying counts that were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement. The government conceded this point, but the court asked for confirmation that the plea agreement "tie[d the court's] hands," and commented that "[p]eople should pay back money they steal." (Id. at 33.) Ultimately, however, the court imposed the lower restitution amount. The court then stated that it was not imposing a fine, but in the very next sentence stated, "No, wait, I am. A fine of $10,000." (Id. at 34.) Mr. Vigil objected to the fine on the grounds that he was indigent, but the court made no further findings or comments on this issue.
"In reviewing a district court's application of the Guidelines, we review its legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for clear error." United States v. De La Cruz-Garcia, 590 F.3d 1157, 1158 (10th Cir.2010). "[T]o the extent [a] defendant asks us to interpret the Guidelines or hold that the facts found by the district court are insufficient as a matter of law to warrant an enhancement, we must conduct a de novo review." United States v. Martinez,
Mr. Vigil contends that the ITB Enhancement applies only to professional fences, and thus that for the enhancement to apply there must be evidence that a defendant actually sold stolen property.
We agree with Mr. Vigil. As described below, the text and legislative history of the ITB Enhancement indicate that for the enhancement to apply, there must be (1) evidence that the defendant received and sold stolen property, and, further, (2) evidence that the defendant was in the business of receiving and selling stolen property. We find no such evidence in the record in this case.
This Court has yet to construe the ITB Enhancement. However, it can hardly be disputed that the ITB Enhancement is directed at professional fences-those that receive and sell stolen goods, not those that merely receive goods for their own use or sell goods that they themselves steal.
First, by restricting application of the ITB Enhancement to defendants who are "in the business of receiving and selling stolen property," the plain language of the ITB Enhancement indicates that it applies only to professional fences. U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(4). Courts have thus held that the ITB Enhancement cannot apply to a defendant who merely sells goods that he himself has stolen, or merely uses goods stolen by and received from others. See United States v. Kimbrew, 406 F.3d 1149, 1153 (9th Cir.2005) ("[N]early every circuit that has addressed the meaning of this enhancement has agreed that a thief who sells goods that he himself has stolen is not in the business of receiving and selling stolen property." (internal quotation marks omitted)); United States v. Saunders, 318 F.3d 1257, 1267 (11th Cir.2003) (finding that a prerequisite to the application of a similar enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2B6.1(b)(2) "is that the defendant personally received and sold stolen property");
Moreover, the legislative history of the ITB Enhancement further supports this interpretation. Originally, Section 2B1.1 governed only "Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft," and did not contain the ITB Enhancement. U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1 (1987).
In 1989, Section 2B1.2 was expanded to cover "Transporting, Transferring, Transmitting, or Possessing" in addition to "Receiving" stolen property, and the Commission added the words "receiving and" to the enhancement, so that it applied where "the offense was committed by a person in the business of receiving and selling stolen property." U.S.S.G. app. C, amend. 102 (Nov. 1, 1989). In 1993, Section 2B1.2 was deleted and consolidated with Section 2B1.1, and the enhancement was moved there. In addition, the enhancement was amended to add the first clause, requiring that "the offense involved receiving stolen property," thereby maintaining the enhancement's applicability only to offenses involving receipt. U.S.S.G. app. C, amend. 481 (Nov. 1, 1993).
In light of this legislative history, courts prior to 2001 construed the ITB Enhancement to apply to professional fences; that is, those who buy and receive stolen property. See McMinn, 103 F.3d at 220 (finding that the legislative history of the ITB Enhancement "substantiates that it was meant to cover the professional fence, not the thief"); United States v. Warshawsky, 20 F.3d 204, 214 (6th Cir.1994) ("A person `in the business of receiving and selling stolen property' is a person once referred to less flatteringly as a `fence.'"); United States v. St. Cyr, 977 F.2d 698, 703 (1st Cir.1992) ("Where there is no indication either of a pattern of dealing in stolen property or of a developed operation that promises such consistency for the future, the defendant is unlikely to be `in the business.'"); United States v. Braslawsky, 913 F.2d 466, 468 (7th Cir.1990) ("The common understanding of a person in the business of receiving and selling stolen property is a professional fence and not a person who sells property that he has already stolen.").
However, courts differed in the nuances of their application of the ITB Enhancement, and, arguably, a circuit split developed.
In 2001, the Sentencing Commission resolved this conflict by adding Application Note 5 to Section 2B1.1. U.S.S.G. app. C, amend. 617 (Nov. 1, 2001). Application Note 5 provides as follows:
U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1 cmt. appl. n. 5. In describing the reason for the amendment, the Sentencing Commission noted the similarity between the "fence" test and the "totality-of-the-circumstances" test, in that under either test, "courts consider the sophistication and regularity of the business as well as the control, volume, turnover, relationship with thieves, and connections with buyers." U.S.S.G. app. C, amend. 617 (emphasis added). However, the Commission explicitly stated that it was adopting the totality-of-the-circumstances approach "because it is more objective and more properly targets the conduct of the individual who is actually in the business of fencing." Id. (emphasis added).
The Commission thus appears to have reaffirmed that the ITB Enhancement applies only to fences—those that buy and sell stolen property. Accordingly, in construing the ITB Enhancement, courts have found that adoption of the "totality-of-the-circumstances" test—rather than the "fence" test—does not alter the threshold requirement that the defendant be a "fence." See Kimbrew, 406 F.3d at 1153-54 ("[T]here is nothing inconsistent about adopting a totality of the circumstances approach to the `in the business' question, while also requiring a defendant to be a fence—to receive and sell property stolen by others—before the enhancement applies.... In other words, the `totality of the circumstances' and `fence' tests diverge on the considerations that apply to being `in the business,' but both tests operate on the predicate that the defendant is a fence."); Saunders, 318 F.3d at 1268-69 ("[A]n interpretation of the enhancement requiring that the defendant be a fence is not inconsistent with our adoption of the totality of the circumstances test for applying the enhancement.... That the defendant must ... receive and sell stolen goods is the common denominator between the [fence and totality-of-the-circumstances] tests."); Cottman, 142 F.3d at 167 n. 9 ("Although some Circuits have described the `totality of the circumstances'
In short, it is apparent that in order for the ITB Enhancement to apply, one must (1) receive and sell stolen property, and (2) be "in the business" of receiving and selling stolen property. Application Note 5 guides our determination of the latter inquiry, but does not extinguish the former. In providing that a court should consider, inter alia, the regularity and sophistication of the defendant's "activities," the extent to which the defendant's "activities" encouraged or facilitated other crimes, and the defendant's past "activities" involving stolen property, Application Note 5 assumes that these "activities" include both receipt and sales. An interpretation of the ITB Enhancement that does not require that the defendant receive and sell stolen property would contravene the text and purposes of the enhancement.
With the above-described principles in mind, we believe the district court erred in applying the ITB Enhancement in this case. As the government conceded, there is no evidence that Mr. Vigil ever sold any stolen property, much less that he was "in the business" of selling stolen property. (See Aple. Br. at 23 ("Admittedly, no direct evidence of resale of the property stolen by Vigil was before the court."); ROA, vol. ii, at 10 ("[T]he truth be told, we are not able to pinpoint and say, look, he sold stuff right there....").) If anything, the PSR indicates that Mr. Vigil used his own photograph in conjunction with others' stolen identities to make fraudulent identifications for his own use.
In any event, the district court did not make any factual findings as to whether Mr. Vigil actually sold any stolen property. Instead, the court based its application of the ITB Enhancement on "what [Mr. Vigil] was about, what he had in his possession and what he admitted to doing with this property that he would steal and make use of." (ROA, vol. ii at 13 (emphasis added).) This reflects a legal conclusion that using stolen property equates with selling stolen property. That conclusion is incorrect. See, e.g., Black's Law Dictionary 1360 (6th ed.1990) (defining "sell" as "[t]o dispose of by sale" and "[t]o transfer title or possession of property to another in exchange for valuable consideration"). The court failed to make any finding that Mr. Vigil actually sold stolen property, and without such a finding, it was error for the district court to have concluded that Mr. Vigil was "in the business" of selling stolen property. Nor, on this record, would any such finding be supported factually.
The government argues that even if the district court erred in applying the ITB Enhancement, this error was harmless because the record reflects that even if the Guideline range were lower, the
"Harmless error is that which did not affect the district court's selection of the sentence imposed." United States v. Montgomery, 439 F.3d 1260, 1263 (10th Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks omitted). The burden of proving that the error is harmless is on the beneficiary of the error—in this case, the government. Id.; see also United States v. Abbas, 560 F.3d 660, 667 (7th Cir.2009) ("To prove harmless error, the government must be able to show that the Guidelines error did not affect the district court's selection of the sentence imposed." (internal quotation marks omitted)).
The government is correct that at the sentencing hearing, the district court indicated that it thought a sentence even longer than 65 months may have been appropriate:
(ROA, vol. ii at 30.) In addition, although the district court reduced the Victim Enhancement from a six-level to a two-level increase based on the government's concession regarding the number of victims, the court noted that in sentencing it would still consider the number of individuals impacted by Vigil's conduct:
(Id. at 14.)
However, the court also indicated that, despite its view that the sentence probably should be longer, it intended to sentence within the Guideline range:
(Id. at 29 (emphasis added).) At no point did the court state that the sentence would be the same even if its calculation of the Guideline range were in error and the Guidelines range were actually lower still.
The record suggests that if the court had calculated the Guideline range differently, it still would have sentenced within that range. Indeed, the district court was initially prepared to impose an 87-month sentence, but reduced it to 65 months based on the applicable range. The record does not establish that had the court calculated the range to be lower, it would have nonetheless varied upward simply to add a few additional months.
This Court reviews the district court's imposition of the $10,000 fine for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Trujillo, 136 F.3d 1388, 1398 (10th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 833, 119 S.Ct. 87, 142 L.Ed.2d 69 (1998). Mr. Vigil argues that the district court erred in imposing a fine of $10,000 because (1) the PSR found that he was unable to pay a fine; (2) he objected to the imposition of the fine on the basis of his inability to pay; and (3) the fine impermissibly impairs his ability to pay restitution. Because the district court abused its discretion by considering neither Mr. Vigil's ability to pay the fine nor the effect the fine might have on his ability to pay restitution, this part of Mr. Vigil's sentence must be reversed.
The Sentencing Guidelines provide that "[t]he court shall impose a fine in all cases, except where the defendant establishes that he is unable to pay and is not likely to become able to pay any fine." U.S.S.G. § 5E1.2(a). "If the defendant establishes that ... he is not able and, even with the use of a reasonable installment schedule, is not likely to become able to pay all or part of the fine ..., the court may impose a lesser fine or waive the fine." Id. § 5E1.2(e). As the plain language of Section 5E1.2 indicates, "[t]he defendant bears the burden of demonstrating an inability to pay a fine." United States v. Deters, 184 F.3d 1253, 1258 (10th Cir.1999).
18 U.S.C. § 3572(a) sets forth factors that must be considered by a district court "[i]n determining whether to impose a fine, and the amount, time for payment, and method of payment of a fine." Section 5E1.2(d) of the Guidelines sets forth similar factors to be considered in determining the amount of a fine. Both sections include the defendant's ability to pay as a consideration. See 18 U.S.C. § 3572(a)(1)(2); U.S.S.G. § 5E1.2(d)(2)-(3). In addition, under 18 U.S.C. § 3572(b), a "court shall impose a fine or other monetary penalty only to the extent that such fine or penalty will not impair the ability of the defendant to make restitution." See also id. at § 3572(a)(4) (providing that a court shall consider "whether restitution is ordered or made and the amount of such restitution"); U.S.S.G. § 5E1.2(d)(4) (providing that a court shall consider "any restitution or reparation that the defendant has made or is obligated to make").
In United States v. Foote, the defendant argued on appeal that the district court's imposition of a fine of $104,107.50 was excessive because it exceeded his ability to pay. 413 F.3d 1240, 1252 (10th Cir.2005). We found that the record did not reveal "any findings by the district court supporting [the defendant's] ability to pay" the fine. Id. at 1253. We noted that although "[d]istrict courts are not required to make specific findings in cases where uncontested evidence establishes the defendant's ability to pay," the defendant in that case "disputed his ability to pay and presented evidence in support of his position." Id. Accordingly, we ordered that "[t]he district court on remand should therefore make findings regarding [the defendant's] ability to pay and consider these findings in deciding the amount of the fine to impose." Id.
In Mr. Vigil's case, the PSR described several jobs that he held in the past, including as a carpenter, a concrete finisher, and a laborer, with pay ranging from $6.50 to $17 per hour. The PSR also stated that "Mr. Vigil has employable skills in carpentry, concrete finishing, caulking, retail sales, computer repair, and Microsoft Office," and "has past certification in CPS and has a heavy machinery operator's license." (ROA, vol. iii at 28.) However, the PSR concluded that Mr. Vigil did not appear to have the ability to pay a fine: "The defendant stated that he does not have any income and does not have any assets. He reported that he owes creditors but ... has no idea [about] the amount. Based on the defendant's financial profile, it appears that he does not have the ability to pay a fine." (Id.) Neither the government nor Mr. Vigil objected to these portions of the PSR.
At the sentencing hearing, the district court initially stated that it was not going to impose a fine, but then immediately changed course and imposed a fine of $10,000. Although the district court did not give any explicit reasons for the fine, the record strongly suggests that the court felt that a fine was appropriate in light of the court's inability, because of the plea agreement, to impose the full restitution amount of $15,642.91 as called for by the PSR. The relevant portion of the sentencing-hearing transcript is useful in understanding the court's decision:
(Id. at 32-34 (emphasis added).)
The district court's imposition of the $10,000 fine must be reversed. Although the fine was well within the applicable Guideline range of $3,000 to $30,000, see U.S.S.G. § 5E1.2(c)(3), the record does not reflect "the district court's consideration of the pertinent factors prior to imposing the fine." Washington-Williams, 945 F.2d at 328. Specifically, despite the PSR's finding that Mr. Vigil did not appear to be able to pay a fine and the absence of any objection by the government to this finding, the district court did not address at all the issue of Mr. Vigil's ability to pay. Indeed, the district court did not provide any reasons for imposing the fine. In addition, the district court did not consider whether the imposition of the fine might impair Mr. Vigil's ability to pay the restitution ordered. Under these circumstances, the district court abused its discretion. See Foote, 413 F.3d at 1253; Gonzalez, 541 F.3d at 1256.
The government nonetheless argues that the fine was appropriate because Mr. Vigil's employment history, as described by the PSR, indicated that Mr. Vigil would be able to pay the fine in the future. In support, the government cites two cases— one published and one unpublished—finding that a defendant's present inability to pay does not foreclose the imposition of a fine where the defendant may be able to pay the fine in the future. See United States v. Platt, 97 Fed.Appx. 851, 858 (10th Cir.2004) (unpublished) ("The fact a defendant
In this case, the district court did not indicate that it was basing the fine on Mr. Vigil's future ability to pay. Indeed, the district court did not provide any reasons supporting its implicit determination that Mr. Vigil was able to pay or would become able to pay a $10,000 fine. This constitutes an abuse of discretion, and we therefore reverse the court's imposition of the fine and remand for resentencing.
For the reasons discussed above, we REVERSE the district court's application of the two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(4) and imposition of a $10,000 fine, VACATE Mr. Vigil's sentence, and REMAND for resentencing.
With an offense level of 12 and a criminal history category of VI, the Guideline range for the access-device-fraud and possession-of-stolen-mail counts would be 30-37 months. U.S.S.G. Ch. 5, Sentencing Table. Coupled with the two-year consecutive sentence for aggravated identity theft, the applicable Guideline range would be 54-61 months, instead of 57-65 months as found by the district court.