United States v. Ronald Keith Baker, United States of America v. Robert Majors

Opinion by Judge REINHARDT.

Ronald Keith Baker and Robert Majors each pleaded guilty to one count of being an accessory after the fact to the making of a false statement on a loan application they submitted to California First Bank. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 3 , 1014. The district court sentenced Baker and Majors to three years of probation. Pursuant to the Victim and Witness Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3663 , the district court ordered each of them to pay $20,000 in restitution to Union Bank, the successor to California First. Baker and Majors appeal only the restitution award. They claim that the district court erred in ordering that restitution be paid to Union, because Union was not a “victim” within the meaning of the Victim and Witness Protection Act. In addition, Majors argues that the district court erred by failing to conduct a sufficient inquiry into his ability to pay, as well as by ordering restitution beyond the loss attributable to the specific offense of conviction. We vacate the restitution awards and remand for further proceedings.

I.

On September 9, 1992, a grand jury returned an eight-count indictment against Baker, Majors, and three others. The indictment alleged…