United States v. Shannon Grimm

MEMORANDUM

Shannon Kathlina Grimm appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges the 51-month sentence imposed following her guilty-plea conviction for wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 ; and making false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287 . We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Grimm contends that the district court erred by imposing a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2Bl.l(b)(10)(C) for use of sophisticated means. The record reflects that Grimm researched the identities of deceased taxpayers in commercial databases and newspapers, paid co-conspirators for the names of deceased taxpayers, structured the returns to maximize the refund amounts, forged the signatures of the purported filers, and deposited refund checks in the bank accounts of third parties to conceal her fraud. Under these circumstances, the district court did not clearly err by finding that Grimm’s crimes involved sophisticated means. See U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1 cmt. n.8(B) (“ ‘[Sophisticated means’ means especially complex or especially intricate offense conduct pertaining to the execution or concealment of an offense.... Conduct such as hiding assets or…