http://lubbockonline.com/crime-and-courts/courts/2014-04-21/biodiesel-swindler-gunselman-seeks-new-sentencing-review
Biodiesel swindler Gunselman seeks new sentencing review
Appellate attorney argues feds shouldn't hold him responsible for
victims' fines and penalties in biofuel deal
Posted: April 21, 2014 - 2:28pm | Updated: April 22, 2014 - 12:18am
By Walt Nett
A-J MEDIA
Convicted biofuels swindler Jeffrey David Gunselman has asked a federal
appeals court to send his case back to trial court for a lesser sentence.
An attorney representing Gunselman on appeal filed a brief Monday with
the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing the restitution order was
far more than the losses he admitted he caused with his illegal sale of
renewable fuels credits.
The appeal contends the restitution order also requires Gunselman to
reimburse oil refiners who bought illicit credits from his company,
Absolute Fuels, for fines and penalties those businesses paid to the
Environmental Protection Agency for failing to oversee their own purchases.
Gunselman, 31, was sentenced in March 2013 to 188 months in prison for
selling more than $41.6 million in renewable fuel credits to oil
refiners even though his biodiesel refinery near Anton was not producing
fuel.
The credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers, were connected
to specific volumes of renewable fuels that refiners were required to
mix in with fossil fuel products.
The RINs served as documentation that the renewable fuels had been mixed
with fossil fuels to show refiners were complying with the law.
Gunselman pleaded guilty in December 2012 to all 79 counts of an
indictment that included charges of wire fraud, money laundering and
making false statements under the Clean Air Act to the EPA.
As part of the sentence, U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings ordered
Gunselman to pay $54.9 million to the victims.
The appellate brief, submitted by attorney Kimberly S. Keller of Boerne,
argues that federal sentencing guidelines clearly prohibit trying to
recover penalties and other sums not directly connected to the criminal
activity.
“The penalties imposed by the EPA on the victims, both by fines and
requiring replacement of RINs, are based on the failure of their own
individual obligations under the RIN program, “ Keller wrote.
Because the restitution amount recommended in the presentencing report
exceeded $50 million, the report contained a sentencing range of 151 to
188 months in prison.
Gunselman admitted to more than $41 million in illicit sales. According
to the brief, federal sentencing guidelines would have recommended a
range of 121 to 151 months.
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