United States v. Smith

MEMORANDUM **

Norman Hugh Smith appeals his 36-month sentence imposed following his guilty plea conviction for two counts of making and subscribing a false individual tax return and two counts of making and subscribing a false corporate tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206 (1). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742 , and we affirm.

Smith contends that the district court erred by increasing his offense level two points for obstructing justice pursuant to United States Sentencing Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.”) § 3C1.1. Reviewing for clear error, United States v. Lofton, 905 F.2d 1315, 1316 (9th Cir.1990), we are not persuaded. A review of the entire record demonstrates that the district court did not err in finding by a preponderance of the evidence that Smith obstructed justice by withholding documents. See United States v. Asagba, 77 F.3d 324, 326 (9th Cir.1996) (stating that “[rjeview under the clearly erroneous standard is significantly deferential, requiring for reversal a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. The standard does not entitle a reviewing court to reverse the finding of the trial court simply because the…