United States v. Douglas Dale Kienenberger, United States of America v. Douglas Dale Kienenberger

Defendant Douglas Kienenberger appeals his convictions on five counts of willfully attempting to evade federal income taxes in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201 and seven counts of falsely representing a social security number in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 408 (a)(2). The government cross-appeals, arguing that the district court erred in its application of the Sentencing Guidelines by not including “tax loss” from pre-Guidelines years when it computed defendant’s base offense level. We have jurisdiction of the timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742 . We affirm the conviction, vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.

I. Facts

Kienenberger did not file tax returns for the years 1985 through 1989 and he used numerous false social security numbers on W-4 forms from different employers. During the years at issue, Kienenberger worked primarily as an electrician for several companies in Alaska.

Kienenberger was advised of his right to counsel at various hearings prior to his jury trial. He stated on several occasions that he wanted “assistance” of counsel on procedural matters but did not want counsel to repre sent him. At Ms arraignment, a public defender…