United States v. Siu Kuen Ma

Siu Kuen Ma appeals the sentence imposed by the district court following her plea of guilty to three counts of money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957 . The district court did not engage in the colloquy with her required by Fed. R.Crim.P. 11(c)(6). While the appeal was pending, the legal landscape on Rule 11 error was altered by United States v. Vonn, — U.S. -, 122 S.Ct. 1043 , 152 L.Ed.2d 90 (2002). Under Vonn , Ma has failed to show that the error affected her substantial rights or that it “seriously affect[ed] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.” Id. at 1048 (internal quotation marks omitted and alteration in original). Accordingly, we dismiss her appeal.

FACTS

In her plea agreement with the government, Ma acknowledged the truth of the following: At all relevant times she was employed by First Republic Bank (the Bank), a federally insured financial institution in San Francisco, California. Beginning in December 1997 and continuing until March, 2000, she fraudulently transferred funds from and to accounts to which her position at the Bank gave her access. More particularly in November and December 1999, she fraudulently…