Bankr. L. Rep. P 74,298 United States of America v. Shahab Nazifpour

Shahab Nazifpour appeals his sentence imposed following a guilty plea to making a false statement in a bankruptcy case, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152 . Nazifpour contends the district court erred by (1) counting the creditors involved in the bankruptcy as victims for purposes of calculating his offense level under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (Guidelines), (2) increasing his offense level based on a finding that the amount of loss involved in the offense of conviction exceeded $10,000, and (3) imposing an excessive amount of restitution and an improper fine payment schedule as part of his sentence. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.

I

Number of Victims

Nazifpour failed to report the existence of two bank accounts when he prepared the documentation in support of his bankruptcy filing. He argues that the only victim of his bankruptcy fraud was the trustee of his estate, not his creditors, and that the district court should not have increased his base offense level for involvement in a scheme to defraud more than one victim. We review de novo a district court’s interpretation of the Guidelines. United States v. O’Neal, 937 F.2d 1369, 1374 (9th…