United States v. La'Vada Cruse , 532 F. App'x 281 ( 2013 )

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 12-2366
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
LA‟VADA CRUSE,
________
Appellant
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of New Jersey
(D.C. No. 1-11-cr-00513-001)
District Judge: Honorable Jerome B. Simandle
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Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
May 7, 2013
Before: SLOVITER, FUENTES, and ROTH, Circuit Judges
(Filed: July 24, 2013)
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OPINION
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SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.
La‟Vada Cruse appeals her judgment of sentence after pleading guilty to one count
of mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341, two counts of tax evasion in violation of
26 U.S.C. § 7201, and one count of aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. §
1028A(a)(1) and (c)(5). Cruse challenges the District Court‟s decision not to group the
mail fraud and tax evasion counts for sentencing purposes, the District Court‟s
consideration of mitigating factors and the reasonableness of her sentence. For the
reasons below, we will affirm the District Court‟s judgment.1
I.
From December 2003 through May 2007, Cruse engaged in a mail fraud scheme,
where she stole the identities of her friends and relatives to apply for more than ninety
student loans, totaling approximately $1.7 million. Seventeen of those loan applications
were approved, from which Cruse received $192,165.52. Cruse also failed to report the
illicit proceeds from her scheme as taxable income.
On July 28, 2011, Cruse pled guilty, pursuant to a written plea agreement, to one
count of mail fraud, two counts of tax evasion and one count of aggravated identity theft.
The plea agreement stipulated that the actual loss from the mail fraud was $192,165.52
and the tax loss was $40,010.
At sentencing, the District Court determined that the Sentencing Guidelines range
was 61 to 70 months, based upon a Criminal History Category of I and a total offense
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The District Court exercised jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231. We exercise
jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a).
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level of 21. The District Court noted that Cruse sought a variance to a sentence of
approximately 48 months, but determined that a sentence of 61 months, which was at the
bottom of the Guidelines range, was appropriate. This appeal followed.
II.
In her opening brief, Cruse argued that the District Court should have grouped the
mail fraud and tax evasion counts together for sentencing purposes pursuant to U.S.S.G.
§ 3D1.2(d), and that this would have resulted in a lower Guidelines range. In her reply
brief, Cruse concedes that grouping the counts would not result in a lower Guidelines
range. Therefore, even if the District Court erred in not grouping the counts, this error
was harmless because it did not change the Guidelines range calculation, and did not
affect Cruse‟s substantial rights. See United States v. Isaac, 655 F.3d 148, 158 (3d Cir.
2011); see also Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(a).
III.
Cruse argues that her sentence was procedurally unreasonable because the District
Court unduly weighed the need for general deterrence and because it failed to
meaningfully consider her mitigation arguments, including her youth, immaturity, and
mental state at the time of the offense. We review the District Court‟s sentence for abuse
of discretion. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). A sentencing judge
must include enough in the record so that an appellate court may be satisfied that he
considered the parties‟ arguments, but the judge is not required to set forth every detail on
which he relied. See Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 356-57 (2007) (citing United
States v. Taylor, 487 U.S. 326, 336-37 (1988)).
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The District Court meaningfully considered all of Cruse‟s arguments for
mitigation, including Dr. Heilbrun‟s psychological evaluation and Cruse‟s youth,
immaturity and state of mind at the time of the offense. Additionally, the District Court
articulated valid reasons for the sentence concerning general deterrence. The record of
Cruse‟s allocution and the Court‟s discussion satisfies us that the District Court did not
abuse its discretion in weighing the § 3553(a) factors.
Lastly, Cruse argues that her sentence is substantively unreasonable. “The abuse-
of-discretion standard applies to both our procedural and substantive reasonableness
inquiries.” United States v. Tomko, 562 F.3d 558, 567 (3d Cir. 2009) (en banc) (citing
Gall, 552 U.S. at 51). “[A]bsent any significant procedural error, we must give „due
deference to the district court‟s determination that the § 3553(a) factors, on a whole,‟
justify the sentence.” Id. (citing Gall, 552 U.S. at 51). The District Court meaningfully
assessed the totality of the facts in this case and imposed a reasonable sentence.
Accordingly, the District Court did not abuse its discretion.
V.
For the reasons set forth, we will affirm the sentence imposed by the District
Court.
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