USA v. Aderinoye, No. 21-40220 (5th Cir. 2022)
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Defendant and accomplices stole millions of dollars in a transcontinental business email compromise scheme. A jury convicted him of fraud, money laundering, and identity theft for his role in the operation. On appeal, Defendant challenged his sentence for the fraud and laundering convictions, arguing that the district court erred by including five enhancements when calculating his Sentencing Guidelines range. He argued that the district court should not have added two points to his offense level for a crime that involved sophisticated means. He further faulted the district court for applying a two-level enhancement for an offense involving "the possession or use of any . . . authentication feature." Finally, he claimed that the district court misapplied the four-level aggravating role enhancement.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction and held that the district court did not err when including five enhancements when calculating his Sentencing Guidelines range. The court concluded that Defendant’s conduct falls within the definition of "sophisticated means." The court reasoned that he created at least forty fraudulent bank accounts in the names of real and fictitious persons and business entities to receive funds from his victims. He then transferred the funds between those accounts and eventually to accounts in his true name; together these actions constitute sophisticated means. Further, the scheme involved multiple participants across two continents and several states. The text of the Guideline and its commentary supports the application of the enhancement and confirms that the enhancement applies "regardless of whether the defendant actually was associated with the organization."
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