Waiver of Right to Appeal Effective

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When a criminal defendant's valid guilty plea includes a waiver of the right to appeal, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals generally enforces the waiver by dismissing any subsequent appeal that raises issues within the scope of the waiver. However, even if an appeal waiver is valid and applicable, the Fourth Circuit will review a claim that a district court's sentence or restitution order exceeded the court's statutory authority.

In United States Of America v. Glenda Taylor-Sanders, Nos. 21-4136, 20-4604, United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit (December 12, 2023) the Defendant sought a change of the sentence and restitution order.

FACTS

From February 2017 through May 2019, Taylor-Sanders took advantage of her role as a licensed insurance agent to defraud several trucking companies and the insurance finance company BankDirect Capital Finance. She defrauded the trucking companies by misappropriating funds that the companies provided her to pay for their insurance policy premiums and BankDirect Capital Finance by obtaining loans under the guise of nonexistent insurance policies. Instead of using the funds she obtained to pay insurance policy premiums or to pay back BankDirect Capital Finance for the legitimate loans it made to the trucking companies, Taylor-Sanders spent the funds on personal expenditures including cars, football tickets, and mortgage payments.

Predictably, some of the trucking companies' insurance policies lapsed because Taylor-Sanders did not pay the insurance premiums. Her scheme unraveled when one trucking company, DW Express, discovered its insurance policy was canceled for nonpayment after it tried to file a claim for an April 2019 trucking accident.

Taylor-Sanders signed a plea agreement, under which she agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud (Count Four). She also agreed to pay "full restitution, regardless of the resulting loss amount, to all victims directly or indirectly harmed by [her] 'relevant conduct,' . . . including conduct pertaining to any dismissed counts or uncharged conduct, regardless of whether such conduct constitutes an 'offense' ..." And she "waive[d] all rights to contest the conviction and sentence in any appeal" on any grounds other than ineffective assistance of counsel or prosecutorial misconduct.  In exchange, the Government agreed to dismiss all the remaining counts against her.

On January 24, 2020, Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler conducted a plea hearing pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. After two adjournments to further explain the plea to her, Taylor-Sanders confirmed that she intended to plead guilty, understood that the decision to plead guilty was entirely hers, and had an adequate opportunity to review the plea documents and discuss possible defenses with counsel. She confirmed that she understood and agreed with the plea documents, that no one had threatened, intimidated, or forced her to enter the guilty plea, and that she understood all parts of the proceeding. She also confirmed that she was satisfied with her counsel's services, had no further questions or statements, and still wished to plead guilty.

After this colloquy, the magistrate judge found that Taylor-Sanders's plea was knowing and voluntary and that Taylor-Sanders understood the charges and potential penalties and consequences of her plea. Four months later Taylor-Sanders moved to withdraw her guilty plea, asserting "she was told she had no choice but to plead guilty" and that "her plea was not knowing and voluntary because 'she did not fully understand the interplay between what her guideline range could be versus the final sentence.'"

The district court found that the Government's witnesses were credible, that the documents it submitted were consistent with the factual basis document and Presentence Investigation Report, and that the evidence "overwhelmingly establishe[d] a factual basis" for Taylor-Sanders's guilty plea. In contrast, the district court found that Taylor-Sanders's testimony was not credible, noting Taylor-Sanders was "thoroughly impeached by her prior misstatements in other arenas." The district court further found that Taylor-Sanders had "engaged in a pattern of fraudulent activity over a lengthy period of time involving multiple businesses in which she received funds to obtain insurance policies..."

On March 10, 2021, the district court ordered Taylor-Sanders to pay restitution in the amounts the Government requested.

ANALYSIS

The magistrate judge conducted a proper Rule 11 colloquy. The magistrate judge confirmed that Taylor-Sanders had reviewed the charge with counsel, understood the contents and possible consequences of her plea agreement, and was voluntarily pleading guilty. When Taylor-Sanders twice expressed concerns about the plea agreement or factual basis document, the magistrate judge provided a recess for her to convene with counsel and make any necessary changes to the plea agreement before proceeding.

Taylor-Sanders's appeal waiver was valid. The restitution order included $139,847.09 for a year of DW Express's lost profits. Since Taylor-Sanders did not dispute that the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act permits restitution.

The Fourth Circuit concluded that each of Taylor-Sanders's claims on appeal are barred by the appeal waiver in her guilty plea. Therefore, her appeal was dismissed.

ZALMA OPINION

Fraud perpetrators have no honor. Even after obtaining a plea agreement that saved her years in prison, Taylor-Sanders took up the time of the District Court and the Fourth Circuit to hear a spurious motion to withdraw her guilty plea after knowingly entering into the plea agreement and waiving her right to appeal. She will pay restitution and spend an appropriate time in jail.

(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.

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