United States v. Lali Sorrentino Pimentel

Lali Sorrentino Pimentel appeals the 23-month sentence imposed after her convictions, following a jury trial, for one count of conspiracy and eight counts of subscribing and presenting false statements in immigration amnesty applications in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 (a), 371, 1546(a). She contends the district court erred by failing to group pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3D1.2 all counts of conviction when calculating her offense level under the Sentencing Guidelines. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

This is not the first time that this case has appeared before us on appeal of a sentencing issue. In a prior appeal, we affirmed Pimentel’s conviction but vacated her sentence and remanded for further proceedings because it was unclear whether the district court had incorrectly concluded that it was without discretion to depart downward based upon Pimentel’s extraordinary family circumstances. See United States v. Pimentel, No. 92-50097, unpublished memorandum disposition (9th Cir. Sep. 17, 1993) (Pimentel 7), 8 F.3d 32 . The government argues that Pimentel’s failure to raise the issue of improper grouping of counts in her first appeal prohibited her from arguing…