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United States v. Duong
Citation: 307 F. App'x 33Docket: No. 07-50537
Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; January 8, 2009; Federal Appellate Court
Kenneth Ky Duong appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341. The appellate court affirmed the district court's decision, stating that there was no error in the court's failure to provide sufficient notice of an upward variance from the sentencing guidelines, as the increase was based on the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors rather than a formal departure from the guidelines. The district court considered various factors, including Duong's lack of responsibility and restitution efforts, the sophistication of his fraud, and his inability to account for the stolen funds. The court explicitly noted that the higher sentence was not a punitive response to Duong's inability to repay the stolen money but rather reflected his overall lack of accountability. The appellate court found the sentence to be neither procedurally flawed nor substantively unreasonable, confirming that the district court had adequately weighed the relevant factors. This ruling is not intended for publication and does not establish precedent except as indicated by the Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.