United States v. Allen Rea Taylor

Allen Rea Taylor appeals his sentence under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, following his conviction on a guilty plea, for one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1957 and 982. We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm in part and vacate and remand in part for resentenc-ing.

I

In August 1990, Taylor, doing business as Westco Trading Company (“Westco”), agreed to sell 400 cellular telephones to Wangrow Company, Ltd. (“Wangrow”), a Taiwan business, for $360,000. As payment for the telephones, in September 1990 two Taiwan banks issued two letters of credit in favor of Westco in the amount of $219,600 and $140,400, payable upon shipment of the telephones.

On September 12, 1990, Taylor shipped six crates, purportedly containing the telephones, to Wangrow. When the crates arrived in Taiwan, Wangrow discovered that they contained bricks.

After confirmation of the shipments was sent, but before the crates arrived in Taiwan, the letters of credit were paid into a Security Pacific Bank checking account under the name of “Suds and Service.”…