United States v. Whitlow, No. 15-1587 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his conviction and sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. The court concluded that the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment where the indictment sufficiently contained the elements of the offense charged; the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting testimony of co-conspirators where the evidence presented was sufficient to independently corroborate the existence of a conspiracy; the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant; and defendant's sentence was substantively reasonable where the district court considered the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors - particularly defendant's criminal history and the need to protect the public - and the district court did not abuse its discretion in fashioning the sentence it found necessary to satisfy the sentencing goals of section 3553(a). Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Kelly, Author, with Riley, Chief Judge, and Beam, Circuit Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. Challenge to the sufficiency of the wire fraud and conspiracy indictment was properly rejected as it included all of the elements of the offenses charged; no error in admitting co-conspirators' statements as there was independent corroborating evidence of a conspiracy; evidence was sufficient to support defendant's convictions; the district court enumerated appropriate factors for its upward variance - defendant's extensive criminal history, the failure of prior sentences to deter him, his utter disregard for the law and his history of preying on elderly victims - and the sentence imposed was not an abuse of the court's discretion.
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