Federal Structuring Case: Lowest Possible Guideline Sentence up to 58% Reduction

Mr. Lowe represented a local Pharmacist that owned two Pharmacies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  Mr. Lowe’s client  was accused of violating Titles 18 USC section 371 and Title 31 section 5324(d)(1).  Mr. Lowe’s client made 77 deposits in his personal bank accounts at JP Morgan and Bank of America totalling over $460,000 in amounts that were intended to cause the bank to not file a Cash Transaction Report (“CTR”).  Before hiring Mr. Lowe, the client had been served with “Warrant For Arrest of Property in Rem” under 31 U.S.C. section 5317(c) and 18 U.S.C. sections 981 and 984.  In that Federal Complaint, the US Attorney’s Office alleged that Mr. Lowe’s client was involved in a “Pill Mill” operation in connection with a few local pain management Physicians under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”).  Mr. Lowe’s client was looking at a potential sentence of up to 10 years and a guideline range up to 57 months in the Bureau of Prisons (‘BOP”).  Mr. Lowe was able to plead his client to a non-Title 31 count in the Information.  That is, Mr. Lowe able to negotiate plea agreement that resulted in a much lower guideline calculation imposed by Federal District Judge for the Northern District of Texas Reed O’Connor at sentencing.  After Mr. Lowe’s objections were sustained to United States Probation Officer’s (USPO) report and the lower guideline range associated the non-Title 31 plea agreement, Mr. Lowe client was only sentenced to 24 months in the BOP.  That is, Mr. Lowe’s work reduced his client’s sentence by up to 58%.