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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 15-14660
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:14-cr-00059-WSD-CMS-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
HERSCHELL HARVELL, JR.,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
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(October 21, 2016)
Before WILSON, WILLIAM PRYOR and ROSENBAUM, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
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Herschell Harvell Jr. appeals his sentence of imprisonment for 32 months for
two convictions of making false statements to a financial institution, 18 U.S.C.
§ 1014. The district court increased Harvell’s offense level by two points for his
use of a special skill in committing the offenses, U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3. Harvell argues
that his previous employment with the United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, did not give him a special
skill. We affirm.
We review for clear error the finding that Harvell used a special skill.
United States v. De la Cruz Suarez, 601 F.3d 1202, 1219 (11th Cir. 2010).
The district court did not clearly err in enhancing Harvell’s base offense
level for his use of a special skill in fraud investigations to help him commit the
offenses of conviction. The average person would lack intimate knowledge of loan
and real estate procedures. United States v. Calderon, 127 F.3d 1314, 1339 (11th
Cir. 1997). But Harvell worked for the Housing Department for 15 years, which
made his training “substantial.” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3, cmt. n.4. He knew various
“tricks of the trade” regarding mortgage fraud. Calderon, 127 F.3d at 1339. And he
used that special skill “in a manner that significantly facilitated the commission or
concealment of the offense.” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3. He concealed or misrepresented
assets, income, living expenses, and business ownership. And the district court was
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entitled to find that he did so in a way that only a seasoned fraud investigator
would know how to do. We affirm.
AFFIRMED.
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