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| Abuse of Trust |
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United States v. Spear,
No. 06-1296 (10th Cir., June 26, 2007) (Published): Federal Sentencing Guidelines; "Abuse of Trust": Spear worked as a clerk in the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau in Denver, Colorado. Among other things, her job included processing immigration applications and collecting fees. She was arrested and prosecuted for taking the fees and trashing the applications (sixteen counts of embezzlement). She plead guilty and at sentencing the Government urged two enhancements: vulnerable victim and abusing a position of trust. The District Court denied the vulnerable victim enhancement but applied the abuse of trust enhancement. HELD: the District Court erred in applying the "abuse of trust" enhancement because Spear lacked the substantial discretionary authority required for this enhancement.
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