UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Benito T. ESTACIO, Defendant-Appellant

Appellant Benito Estacio appeals his conviction after jury trial on a sixteen-count indictment arising out of an elaborate check kiting scheme. The counts of conviction included one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud ( 18 U.S.C. § 371 ), one count of aiding and abetting bank fraud ( 18 U.S.C. § 1344 ), and fourteen counts of money laundering ( 18 U.S.C. § 1956 ). The sentencing guideline range as calculated in the presen-tence report was 121-151 months, but the district court made a downward departure to concurrent terms of 40 months on all counts. The government does not cross-appeal.

Estacio functioned as the chief financial officer of a development company that owned several car dealerships in an automotive mall. With Estacio’s knowledge, and under his direction, two dealerships conducted the check kiting at issue in this case by exchanging bad checks drawn on each dealership’s respective bank. The kite flew at its highest in December of 1990, when the two dealerships exchanged kited cheeks totaling nearly $1,000,-000 daily. In January 1991, the kite crashed when one of the banks refused to honor a check; the other bank ultimately lost more than $3,000,000.

The unusual…