United States v. Johnson, No. 15-1650 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant, a potato farmer, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, making false statements to influence the United States USDA, and making false statements to law enforcement. Defendant's convictions stemmed from his fraudulent insurance claim and disaster relief application certifying that his potato crop had been damaged by naturally occurring soft rot. The government ultimately paid out several hundred thousand dollars in indemnity and disaster relief. The court concluded that sufficient evidence supported defendant's convictions where a juror could find that he intentionally damaged the potatoes. The court also concluded that the district court did not err in applying sentencing enhancements based on obstruction of justice under USSG 3C1.1 for attempting to bribe a witness, and the total loss amount under USSG 2B1.1(b)(1)(H) based on a total loss amount of between $400,000 and $1 million. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Murphy, Author, with Beam and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Criminal Case - conviction and sentence. Sufficient evidence was presented to support conviction for conspiring to defraud the United States, making false statements to influence the USDA and making false statements to law enforcement, relating to intentional damage of his potato crop to obtain insurance and disaster relief. The district court did not err in applying an enhancement for obstruction of justice for attempting to bribe a witness and applying an enhancement based on a total loss amount between $400,000 and $1 million.
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