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Should SCOTUS or USSC resolve circuit split on who counts as a fraud victim?

By Douglas A. Berman

The National Law Journal has this new piece noting a circuit split over who counts as a victim for a guideline enhancement in fraud cases.  The article is headlined, "Circuits split on sentencing for financial fraud ?  At issue is whether people who are reimbursed for financial losses from criminal schemes should be counted as victims," and here are snippets: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit last Friday waded into a growing circuit split over how tough judges can be on defendants accused of financial fraud.  At issue is whether judges should count people who are reimbursed for financial losses from criminal schemes as victims when deciding whether to increase a defendant's sentence. In a pair of opinions, Judge Kermit V. Lipez, writing for unanimous 1st Circuit panels, upheld 72-month sentences for defendants who were accused of stealing debit card numbers, personal identification numbers, credit card numbers, and ultimately money, from customers of Stop & Shop supermarkets in Rhode Island...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).