United States v. Inclema

[PUBLISH] This case involves the interpretation and application of United States Sentencing Guidelines §§ 2B1.1 and 2B5.1. Defendant Scott Inclema pleaded guilty to one count of making counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 471, and one count of transferring counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 473. The district court held that U.S.S.G. § 2B5.1, entitled ""Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States"" applied, and sentenced Inclema to concurrent terms of thirty-seven months' imprisonment. Inclema argues that because he merely ""altered"" genuine Federal Reserve Notes, the district court erroneously applied § 2B5.1, instead of § 2B1.1, which would have resulted in less imprisonment. After de novo review and oral argument, we reverse and vacate Inclema's sentence, holding that because Inclema began his counterfeiting process with genuine Federal Reserve Notes and ended up with Federal Reserve Notes with a different face value, he, by definition, only ""altered"" the Federal Reserve Notes, which thus requires application of § 2B1.1, and in any event, because of ambiguity in the guidelines, the rule of lenity should apply.