United States v. Stephen Robert Gunning

Stephen R. Gunning appeals from a judgment entered against him pursuant to his plea of guilty to wire fraud. 18 U.S.C. § 1343 . He claims that the schedule for payment of restitution while he was in prison was improperly delegated to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and that he was improperly denied allocution at sentencing. We agree, and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

On March 21, 2001, Gunning was indicted for two counts of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 . He and a codefen-dant were alleged to have participated in an investment fraud scheme in which investors entrusted the defendants with money which the investors were fraudulently and falsely led to believe was being invested in high-yield investment programs.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Gunning entered a guilty plea on the second count of wire fraud, and on February 8, 2002, he was sentenced to serve fifty-seven months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,924,835.37.

Gunning appealed, and we remanded for further consideration by the district court and for resentencing, if necessary. United States v. Gunning, 339…