United States v. Wood, No. 20-1454 (7th Cir. 2022)
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In 2015-2019, Wood defrauded homeowners facing foreclosure, convincing them to "refinance" and make their mortgage payments to him. Wood convinced some clients to stall foreclosures by manipulating the bankruptcy process. A Wisconsin bankruptcy judge enjoined Wood from continuing his scheme. Wood disregarded that order, defrauding 73 victims of almost $400,000. Many were evicted from their homes. Wood was charged with six counts of wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1343; one count of mail fraud, section 1341; one count of bankruptcy fraud, section 157; and criminal contempt of court, section 401(3). Wood violated his pretrial supervision by contacting his victims and soliciting money for mortgage services. Wood pled guilty to wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud; his PSR recommended a sentence of 72 months, based on a Guidelines range of 70-87 months. The court expressed skepticism about Wood’s allocution, citing Wood’s previous fraudulent crimes, his “heartlessness,” and the profound, non-monetary harm to his victims and legitimate creditors. Concluding that the Guidelines inadequately accounted for Wood’s behavior, the court observed Wood’s “crime stands apart" and that the closest comparator was a fraudulent scheme in another case (Iriri). The court observed that Iriri was induced to commit fraud, whereas Wood committed his crime completely unprompted.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed Woods' 144-month sentence. Wood’s sentence turned on the unique characteristics and qualities of his crime. That is not an abuse of discretion. The court’s reference to Iriri “is so limited as to flirt with irrelevance.”
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