United States v. Maria C. Duran, United States of America v. Lilia Vazquez

Appellants Maria Duran and Lilia Vazquez appeal from their convictions and sentences. At a jury trial, Maria Duran was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice and commit perjury, two counts of aiding and abetting perjury, filing a false tax return, two counts of structuring transactions, and filing a false loan application. Lilia Vazquez was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice and commit perjury and two counts of perjury. We hold that Maria Duran’s and Lilia Vazquez’s sentences for their conspiracy and perjury convictions should not have been increased by three levels. We affirm the district court’s decision on the other issues discussed in this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

Maria Duran’s husband, Macario Duran, worked for a “Major Narcotics Violator Crew,” a department within the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Office responsible for investigating money laundering and narcotics trafficking. In 1988 and 1989, Macario Duran stole money from the Crew during its drug investigations and money seizures. During the same time period, Maria Duran failed to report all of her income from her beauty salon business to the IRS.

In an effort to conceal this illegal money, Macario and Maria…