UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Edward ALLISON, Jr., Defendant-Appellant

Edward Allison, Jr. pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud or use one or more unauthorized access devices to obtain goods and services having a value of more than $1,000, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029 (b)(2). Allison appeals his sentence. We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal. 18 U.S.C. § 3742 (a), 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.

1. BACKGROUND

On December 15, 1994, a five-count Indictment was filed against appellant Edward Allison, Jr. and his co-defendant Maura T. Peralta. Count one alleged that the defendants conspired to defraud or use one or more unauthorized access devices to obtain goods and services having a value of more than $1,000, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029 (b)(2). Counts two through five charged the defendants with knowingly using an unauthorized access device to obtain goods and services having value of more than $1,000, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1029 (a)(2).

Peralta was employed as a loan processor at the Bank of Hawaii Bank Card Center (“Bank of Hawaii”). She used the computer to create credit card accounts that were not supported by any applications, and caused credit cards to be issued to Allison and…