United States v. Douglas Lincoln

Defendant Douglas Lincoln appeals from a sentence imposed by the district court requiring him to pay restitution to the United States Post Office pursuant to the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3663A. Because the United States Post Office can be a victim under the MVRA, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Lincoln was the Postmaster of the United States Post Office in White Mountain, Alaska, from 1998-1999. Between January and November 1999, Lincoln stole and falsified eighty-two postal money orders worth approximately $41,490.25. As a result of these thefts, the United States Post Office sustained a loss of $24,507.43.

Lincoln pled guilty to the theft of postal money orders from the United States Post Office in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 500 . At the sentencing hearing, Lincoln argued that mandatory restitution pursuant to the MVRA did not apply to his case because the government was not an eligible “victim” under the act.

The district court concluded that the term “victim” as used in the MVRA included the United States government. Lincoln was sentenced to four months imprisonment, a three year period of supervised release, and was ordered to pay…