Second Circuit – Sentencing enhancements: United States v. Frias

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United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Sentencing enhancements

Stash house – Organizer

United States v. Frias

22-1804(L)

Judges Carney, Sullivan, and Lee

Background: The defendants appealed their sentences after entering pleas of guilty to fentanyl trafficking charges. One defendant argues that the court erred in calculating the base offense level by applying a two-level increase under the sentencing guidelines for maintaining a premises for narcotics trafficking and declining to apply a two-level reduction for being a minor participant in the trafficking scheme. The other argues that the court erred in applying a four-level increase for being an organizer or leader of the scheme.

Ruling: The Second Circuit affirmed the first defendant’s sentence and vacated the second sentence. The court held that a family home can support an enhancement noting that a stash-house enhancement explains that a premises can have more than one primary or principle use. The court also found that even if the defendant had a small number of customers, which were separate from the second defendant’s customers, the defendant still admitted to being responsible for distributing at least 124 grams of fentanyl, which is well above of his coconspirators admitted to. The Second Circuit also held that instructing a family member to distribute fentanyl on his behalf without pay and sporadically does not qualify for the organizer sentencing enhancement.

Cory Zennamo, of Zennamo Litigation & Advocacy, and Elizabeth Franklin-Best for the defendants-appellants; Thomas R. Sutcliffe, assistant United States attorney, for the appellee.

Oral argument audio