United States v. John Reynolds

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MAR 14 2017 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 15-50048 Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 8:11-cr-00008-CJC v. MEMORANDUM* JOHN CARL REYNOLDS, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Cormac J. Carney, District Judge, Presiding Submitted March 8, 2017** Before: LEAVY, W. FLETCHER, and OWENS, Circuit Judges. John Carl Reynolds appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges the 51-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for aiding and abetting and mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2(a) and 1341. We dismiss in part and affirm in part. * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). Reynolds contends that the district court erred by applying a sentencing enhancement for his abuse of a position of trust under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3. The government contends that this claim is barred by a valid appeal waiver. Reviewing de novo, we conclude that the provision of the appeal waiver stating that Reynolds waives the right to appeal “the procedures and calculations used to determine . . . the sentence” unambiguously encompasses this claim. See United States v. Harris, 628 F.3d 1203, 1205-06 (9th Cir. 2011). Reynolds next contends that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing Reynolds’s sentence. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). The high-end sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and the totality of the circumstances, including the nature of the offense and Reynolds’s history of fraudulent behavior. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. DISMISSED in part; AFFIRMED in part. 2 15-50048