United States v. Desmond Jackson


Case: 19-20143 Document: 00515273027 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/15/2020 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals No. 19-20143 Fifth Circuit FILED January 15, 2020 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Plaintiff - Appellee v. DESMOND OLUWASEYI JACKSON, Defendant - Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court Southern District of Texas, Houston U.S.D.C. No. 4:18-CR-511-1 Before STEWART, CLEMENT, and HO, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Defendant-Appellant Desmond Oluwaseyi Jackson timely appeals his sentence imposed by the district court for five counts of false use of a passport under 18 U.S.C. § 1543. Jackson challenges the district court’s cross reference to the Sentencing Guideline for fraud, sentencing enhancement for the loss amount given the insufficiency of evidence, and addition of a term of supervised release at a subsequent sentencing hearing. We AFFIRM the district court’s * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Case: 19-20143 Document: 00515273027 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/15/2020 No. 19-20143 cross reference, loss amount enhancement, and the addition of the supervised- release term. I. Facts and Sentencing Proceedings In August 2018, Jackson was indicted on five counts of knowingly using a falsified passport. A. Charged Conduct These charges stem from a widespread fraudulent scheme involving falsified bank accounts, wire transfers containing Business Email Compromise (“BEC”) 1 fraud proceeds, fraudulently leased property, and romance scams. The instances of fraudulent conduct begin in November 2017 and continue through May 2018. The indictment detailed five instances where Jackson attempted to use a counterfeit Federal Republic of Nigeria passport, purporting to be David Ola Richman. As David Ola Richman—a fictitious individual—Jackson successfully opened bank accounts at (1) Wells Fargo Bank, (2) Chase Bank, (3) Woodforest National Bank, and (4) First National Bank (collectively, the “Richman Accounts”). During the relevant time period, Jackson also leased a mailbox at a Postal Xpress store. Jackson’s coconspirators scammed victims into funding these accounts using wire transfers. The BEC proceeds would remain in these repository accounts until Jackson transferred the funds to his coconspirators. The money was obtained primarily through romance scams. The romance scams were schemes in which coconspirators targeted victims through email or other 1 The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines BEC as a sophisticated email fraud scheme contacting businesses and individuals to unlawfully obtain money. 2 Case: 19-20143 Document: 00515273027 Page: 3 Date Filed: 01/15/2020 No. 19-20143 electronic communications, assumed fake personas, and pretended to have romantic interest in the victims. The victims were then seduced via e- communications over several months and persuaded to wire money into the Richman Accounts. The Government interviewed five victims who wired money into these accounts, totaling $32,950.00. Upon receipt, Jackson would then transfer the monies to his collaborators and retain a portion for himself. B. Uncharged Conduct While Jackson was not charged for the following conduct, the district court nonetheless ...

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