United States v. Grant Shaw

Grant Shaw fraudulently obtained a line of credit for $2 million from El Camino Bank by misrepresenting financial reports. Shaw was charged with and pled guilty to bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344 , and was sentenced under the 1989 United States Sentencing Guidelines to one year in prison. The district court based Shaw’s sentence on the “intended loss” associated with the loan under U.S.S.G. § 2F1.1, which the court assumed to be the total amount of the fraudulently obtained loan. Shaw argues that the district court applied an incorrect legal definition of “intended loss,” and that “intended loss” under the 1989 Guidelines should be the subjective amount Shaw intended for the bank to lose. We agree that “intended loss” is the amount the defendant subjectively intended not to repay. Under the 1989 Guidelines, it is this figure, rather than the total at risk from the bank’s perspective, which is to be compared with the amount actually lost by the victim, for purposes of sentencing. We therefore vacate the sentence and remand.

I

Shaw owned a small business named Shaw Lumber Company (“SLC”). Shaw obtained a $2 million line of credit for SLC from El Camino Bank. On several…