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01-3954 U.S. v. Travis

By: dmc-admin//June 25, 2002//

01-3954 U.S. v. Travis

By: dmc-admin//June 25, 2002//

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“Here the district court did not cite Mr. Travis’ obstructive conduct as the basis for denying an adjustment for acceptance of responsibility. Instead, the district court denied the adjustment because Mr. Travis downplayed the illegality of his operation of Maple Investments during a presentence interview held after he pleaded guilty in connection with the Maple Investments scam. Mr. Travis told probation officials, for example, that he did not intend to defraud the investors in Maple Investments and that the government had ‘really overblown’ his conduct. R. 40, PSR at 5. He also discounted the significance of his actions by suggesting that his problems began only after he received phony checks from his investors. Mr. Travis went on to say that, had he ‘checked out’ the investors, he would not have started writing bad checks. Id. Defendants like Mr. Travis, who minimize illegal conduct or blame others for wrongdoing, have failed to accept responsibility. See United States v. Sierra, 188 F.3d 798, 804 (7th Cir. 1999); United States v. Field, 110 F.3d 592, 594 (8th Cir. 1997); United States v. Wilder, 15 F.3d 1292, 1299 (5th Cir. 1994). Thus, the record supports the district court’s finding that Mr. Travis failed to accept responsibility, even after he pleaded guilty in this case, and it is unnecessary to consider whether Mr. Travis’ obstruction of justice also provided the district court with grounds to deny an adjustment for acceptance of responsibility.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Castillo, J., Ripple, J.

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