United States v. Shawn Swor

Shawn Anthony Swor appeals from the sentence imposed after he pled guilty to one count of investment fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 . We affirm the sentence in part and vacate in part.

I.

Swor was a mortgage broker. In February 2008, he, Dan Two Feathers, and Terrence Paulin founded DTF Consulting Group to lure investors to “high yield” opportunities, using “leveraged investment and securities programs.” Essentially, DTF advertised that it would leverage modest investments to secure much larger lines of credit and invest loan proceeds in government securities, which DTF would buy at a discount and sell at a premium, using its ostensible “connections in the world of international finance.” At Two Feathers’ direction, Paulin created a fraudulent $1.5 billion letter of credit “to entice potential investors.” During DTF’s short existence, each of the company’s founders traveled the country to promote the scheme and boast of its “extremely high returns.”

One potential investor intrigued by the scheme was Eric Schultz, whom Swor introduced to Two Feathers in March 2008. Schultz remained on the sidelines for a time, staying in close contact with Two Feathers about the…