Case: 17-40516 Document: 00514713504 Page: 1 Date Filed: 11/06/2018 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 17-40516 United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED November 6, 2018 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Lyle W. Cayce Plaintiff–Appellee Clerk v. JORGE ERNESTO BLANCO-RODRIGUEZ, Defendant–Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 7:15-CR-1083-1 Before DAVIS, COSTA, and OLDHAM, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Jorge Ernesto Blanco-Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On appeal, Blanco-Rodriguez challenges his sentence. He argues that his counsel was ineffective for failing to advise him of the immigration consequences of his guilty plea. He also challenges the district court’s imposition of a three-level sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b) * 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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: 17-40516 Document: 00514713504 Page: 2 Date Filed: 11/06/2018 No. 17-40516 for his role as a manager or supervisor in the underlying criminal activity. As explained more fully below, we AFFIRM the district court’s sentence. I. Blanco-Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The presentence report (“PSR”) recommended a four-level increase in Blanco- Rodriguez’s offense level under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a) for his role as an organizer or leader in the conspiracy. In support of the enhancement, the PSR set forth the following facts: During the instant offense, the defendant’s role involved receiving stolen credit/debit card information from unknown individuals in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and/or China from May 2011 to May 2015. After fraudulently receiving the account numbers, the defendant sold the account information to co-conspirators in exchange for financial gain. Mary Vaquera and other individuals sent electronic payments to unknown coconspirators in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and/or China, and foreign coconspirators paid the defendant $2 to $5 for each fraudulent account number he disseminated during the offense. Investigators were able to confirm the defendant’s involvement regarding 12,000 such fraudulent access devices during the four-year period from May 2011 to May 2015. Furthermore, undercover investigators purchased 250 stolen credit/debit account numbers from the defendant from January 2015 [to] April 2015. Although the confirmed fraud in this case affected at least 100 financial institutions and exceeds $900,000, only 18 of the affected financial institutions reported or claimed pecuniary losses, resulting in a current total financial loss of $602,864.13. Defense counsel filed written objections to the PSR, challenging the recommendation that Blanco-Rodriguez receive the four-level enhancement under § 3B1.1(a). Blanco-Rodriguez’s counsel argued that Blanco-Rodriguez should have been given a four-level reduction in his offense level under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 for being a minimal participant rather than a four-level enhancement under § 3B1.1(a) for being an organizer or leader. 2 Case: 17-40516 Document: 00514713504 Page: 3 Date Filed: 11/06/2018 No. 17-40516 At sentencing, the Government presented testimony from Secret Service Special Agent Jose Obando, the lead investigator of the case. When questioned by the ...
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