US v. Leonardo Zanders

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 1:09-cr-00359-GBL-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998518222] [10-4130]

Case: 10-4130

Document: 42

Date Filed: 02/04/2011

Page: 1

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 10-4130

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
LEONARDO DARNELL ZANDERS, a/k/a Leo,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Gerald Bruce Lee, District
Judge. (1:09-cr-00359-GBL-1)

Submitted:

January 13, 2011

Decided:

February 4, 2011

Before MOTZ, KING, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Matthew W. Greene, MARTIN, ARIF & GREENE, PLC, Springfield,
Virginia, for Appellant.
Neil H. MacBride, United States
Attorney, Timothy D. Belevetz, Assistant United States Attorney,
Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Following his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit bank
fraud, Leonardo Darnell Zanders was sentenced to 200 months’
imprisonment.
to

his

In this appeal, Zanders raises three challenges

sentence,

all

concerning

sentencing guidelines range.
This

court

that

the

calculation

of

his

We affirm.

reviews

sentences

abuse-of-discretion standard.”
38, 41 (2007).

the

under

a

“deferential

Gall v. United States, 552 U.S.

In conducting this review, we “must first ensure

district

court

committed

no

significant

procedural

error, such as failing to calculate (or improperly calculating)
the

Guidelines

range,

treating

the

Guidelines

as

mandatory,

failing to consider the [18 U.S.C.] § 3553(a) factors, selecting
a

sentence

based

on

clearly

erroneous

adequately explain the chosen sentence.”

facts,

or

failing

Id. at 51.

to

Once we

have determined that the sentence is free of procedural error,
we must consider the substantive reasonableness of the sentence,
“tak[ing] into account the totality of the circumstances.”

Id.

If the sentence is within the appropriate guidelines range, this
court

applies

reasonable.

a

presumption

on

appeal

that

the

sentence

is

United States v. Abu Ali, 528 F.3d 210, 261 (4th

Cir. 2008), cert. denied, 129 S. Ct. 1312 (2009).
Zanders first contends that the district court erred
by applying a four-level increase in offense level pursuant to
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U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 3B1.1(a) (2009).

A four-

level increase is provided under § 3B1.1(a) for a defendant who
is an organizer or leader of an offense which involved five or
more participants or was otherwise extensive.

To qualify, the

defendant must have been the organizer or leader of “one or more
other participants.”

USSG § 3B1.1 cmt. (n.2).

Factors to be

considered include:
the exercise of decision making authority, the nature
of participation in the commission of the offense, the
recruitment of accomplices, the claimed right to a
larger share of the fruits of the crime, the degree of
participation in planning or organizing the offense,
the nature and scope of the illegal activity, and the
degree of control and authority exercised over others.
USSG § 3B1.1 cmt. (n.4).

The district court’s determination

that the defendant had a leadership role in the offense is a
factual finding we review for clear error.

United States v.

Kellam, 568 F.3d 125, 147-48 (4th Cir. 2009), cert. denied, 130
S. Ct. 657 (2009).
In
Government
directed

support
submitted

the

of

the

several

activities

§ 3B1.1(a)

of

documents
several

enhancement,

showing

the

that

Zanders

co-conspirators.

These

documents included the Statements of Facts filed in support of
and stipulated by two of Zanders’ co-conspirators, summaries of
interviews

with

co-conspirators,

conspirator

who

testified

ultimately

pled

guilty,

at

testimony

Zanders’

documentation
3

trial
of

of

another

co-

before

Zanders

airline

tickets

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purchased by Zanders for co-conspirators, and records of Western
Union wire transfers between Zanders and Clyde Austin Gray, Jr.,
another individual also identified as a ringleader.

Based on

this evidence, we find that the district court did not clearly
err by finding that Zanders was an organizer or leader of the
conspiracy.
Next, Zanders argues that the district court erred by
determining that he joined the conspiracy in February 2007.

The

total loss, including intended loss, associated with the bank
fraud conspiracy in this case was $1,536,498.16.
USSG

§ 2B1.1(b)(1)(I),

the

district

court

Pursuant to

enhanced

Zanders’

offense level by sixteen levels based on losses of more than $1
million but less than $2.5 million.

Zanders does not dispute

the calculation of loss for the entire conspiracy.

However, he

contends that he joined the conspiracy in July 2007 and is not
responsible for losses that occurred before then.
Zanders admitted he began making false identifications
for Gray in February 2007 and that he knew Gray would use these
false identifications for a criminal purpose.

However, Zanders

argues that he did not become involved in the actual conspiracy
until July 2007 when he asserts he knew “exactly what was going
on.”
“[O]ne may be a member of a conspiracy without knowing
its full scope, or all its members, and without taking part in
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the full range of its activities over the whole period of its
existence.”
Cir.

United States v. Banks, 10 F.3d 1044, 1054 (4th

1993).

connection

“[T]he
between

evidence
the

need

only

defendant

and

establish
the

a

slight

conspiracy”

to

establish that the defendant was involved in the conspiracy.
United States v. Green, 599 F.3d 360, 367 (4th Cir. 2010), cert.
denied,

131

S.

Ct.

271

and

131

S.

Ct.

340

(2010).

Notwithstanding Zanders’ claim that he did not know the full
scope

of

the

conspiracy

until

July

2007,

we

find

that

the

district court did not clearly err by finding that he joined the
conspiracy in February 2007.
Finally, Zanders claims that the district court erred
by applying a two-level enhancement under USSG § 2B1.1(b)(2)(A)
for an offense involving ten or more victims.

The presentence

report

identified

that

losses

as

a

ten

result

financial
of

the

institutions

conspiracy.

sustained

Zanders

disputes

inclusion of two victim banks and losses at a third bank because
the

Government

did

conspirators

who

transactions

at

individuals

by

not

know

conducted
these

nicknames

the

names

some

or

institutions
based

on

of

the

uncharged

all

of

and

referred

their

the

co-

fraudulent

appearance

to
in

these
bank

surveillance photos.
Although the Government did not know the identity of
these suspects, the Government linked them to the conspiracy
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because they used counterfeit identifications in the names of
victims

whose

identifying

members of the conspiracy.
from

bank

surveillance

information

was

stolen

by

known

Moreover, images of these suspects

photographs

matched

photographs

found

pursuant to search warrants executed during the investigation.
We

conclude

that

the

district

court

did

not

clearly

err

by

finding that the unidentified individuals were linked to the
conspiracy

and

that

the

losses

suffered

by

the

financial

institutions from these individuals’ actions resulted from the
conspiracy.
relationship

Furthermore,
to

these

although

individuals

Zanders
is

claims

unknown,

as

that

his

previously

stated, involvement in a conspiracy does not require knowledge
of all members of that conspiracy, Banks, 10 F.3d at 1054.
For these reasons, we affirm Zanders’ sentence.
dispense

with

oral

argument

because

the

facts

and

We

legal

contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

6