United States v. Larry Lewinson
Opinion
Opinion
Pregerson, J.
The government appeals from the district court’s judgment imposing a sentence of eight months on defendant Larry Lewin-son. This sentence represents a downward departure under Section 5K2.13 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“§ 5K2.13”). We affirm.
BACKGROUND
On February 12, 1992, Larry Lewinson pled guilty to one count of mail fraud un der 18 U.S.C. § 1341 . At the plea hearing, Lewinson admitted that he charged the State of California for salvaging products that were not eligible for state reimbursement. Both Lewinson and the government stipulated that the “scheme began sometime in 1988 and continued to approximately ... September or November of 1989....”
At the subsequent sentencing hearing, the district court determined that the applicable guideline range was 18 to 24 months, based on Criminal History Category I and Offense Level 15. Based on evidence that Lewinson suffered from impaired mental capacity at the time of the offense, the district court departed downward to level 11, resulting in a guidelines range of 8 to 14 months.
On appeal, the government presents three challenges to Lewinson’s sentence. First, the government contends that the evidence submitted…