Transcript of Sentencing Hearing — United States v. Imeesha Bradley (S.D. W. Va.)

Record facts

U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia · No. 2:23-cr-00112 · Doc. 37 · 2024-01-09 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

Ayme A. Cochran, RMR, CRR (304) 347-3128
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            IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA
AT CHARLESTON
______________________________x
                              : 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,     :      Criminal Action
                              :         
                Plaintiff,    :      No.  2:23-cr-00112
                              :
v.                            :
                              :      Date:  January 9, 2024 
IMEESHA BRADLEY,              :
                              :
                 Defendant.   :
______________________________x
TRANSCRIPT OF SENTENCING HEARING HELD 
BEFORE THE HONORABLE DAVID A. FABER, SENIOR STATUS JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
IN CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA
APPEARANCES:
For the Government:        AUSA FRANCESCA C. ROLLO
                           U.S. Attorney's Office
                           P.O. Box 1713
                           Charleston, WV  25326-1713
For the Defendant:         AFPD EMILY SZOPINSKI 
                           Office of the federal public    
                           Defender
                           Suite 3400
                           300 Virginia Street, East
                           Charleston, WV 25301
Probation Officer:         Beth Srednicki
Court Reporter:            Ayme Cochran, RMR, CRR
Proceedings recorded by mechanical stenography;
transcript produced by computer.
Case 2:23-cr-00112     Document 37     Filed 05/01/24     Page 1 of 16 PageID #: 131

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     PROCEEDINGS had before The Honorable David A. Faber, 
Senior Status Judge, United States District Court, Southern 
District of West Virginia, in Charleston, West Virginia, on 
January 9, 2024, at 10:58 a.m., as follows:          
     THE COURT:  The case before the Court is the 
United States against Imeesha Bradley, criminal action 
number 2:23-112.  
     Would the attorneys note their appearances, please?  
MS. ROLLO:  Good morning, Your Honor.  Francesca 
Rollo on behalf of the United States.  
MS. SZOPINSKI:  Good morning, Your Honor.  Emily 
Szopinski on behalf of Ms. Bradley.
          THE COURT:  All right.  Ms. Szopinski, have you 
had an opportunity to review the Presentence Report with 
your client and are you prepared to go forward with the 
sentencing this morning?  
MS. SZOPINSKI:  Yes, Your Honor.
          THE COURT:  The Presentence Report is accepted.  
It will be ordered filed and made part of the record and 
will be placed in the record under seal.
     In the event of an appeal of the sentence imposed today 
counsel on appeal will be permitted access to the sealed 
report except for the recommendations section.
     Except as may be modified hereinafter by specific 
rulings made at this hearing, the Court adopts as its 
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findings the facts and conclusions contained in the 
Presentence Report.
     In order to fulfill its reporting obligation under Rule 
32 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure the Court 
directs that a copy of its Written Memorandum of Sentencing 
Hearing and Report of Statement of Reasons to be prepared at 
the conclusion of this hearing be appended to and accompany 
any copy of the Presentence Report and made available to the 
Bureau of Prisons.
     The Court has withheld no information from the report 
under Rule 32.
     Are there any matters in dispute requiring ruling by 
the Court at this hearing?  
MS. ROLLO:  No, Your Honor.  
MS. SZOPINSKI:  No, Your Honor.
          THE COURT:  Ms. Bradley, pursuant to the 
sentencing guidelines at your original plea hearing on 
August the 1st of last year, I deferred an adjudication of 
guilt pending receipt of the Presentence Report in your 
case.  Having now received that report the Court finds that 
the charge to which you are pleading guilty adequately 
reflects the seriousness of the offense behavior in this 
case and I find that accepting your plea will not undermine 
the statutory purposes of sentencing.
     You were charged in a single-count information charging 
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you with receipt of stolen money in violation of 18 United 
States Code Section 2315.  You pled guilty to that 
information and the Court believes that the guidelines 
applicable to that offense will, in your case, satisfy the 
statutory objectives of sentencing.  
     Therefore, I now find you guilty and accept your plea 
and you stand convicted of the offense to which you have 
pled guilty.
     The Court further concludes and finds that the 
guideline calculations are a Base Offense Level of 6 and a 
Total Offense Level of 6, the Court having granted the 
following adjustments:  A four-level increase under Section 
2B1.1(b)(1)(C) because the loss amount is between $15,000.00 
and $40,000.00; a two-level decrease under Section 3E1.1(a) 
for acceptance of responsibility; and a two-level decrease 
under Section 4C1.1(a)-(b) because the defendant is a 0 
point offender.  The Criminal History Category is I and the 
guideline calculations are thus imprisonment for a term of 0 
to 6 months; supervised release for a period of 1 to 
3 years; a fine of $1,000 to $9,500, plus the costs of 
incarceration and/or supervision; the possibility of 
probation for a term of 1 to 5 years; a mandatory special 
assessment of $100; and an order of restitution.
     Is there any objection to the Court's calculation of 
the guidelines?  
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MS. ROLLO:  No, Your Honor.  
MS. SZOPINSKI:  No, Your Honor.
          THE COURT:  The Court's received two letters on 
behalf of the defendant, one from Keep Your Faith 
Corporation, and one from the Prestera Center.  I have read 
these and they will be filed with the Presentence Report and 
made a part of the file in this case.
    I'll recognize the defense counsel for any argument you 
care to make on what an appropriate sentence might be.  
MS. SZOPINSKI:  Thank you, Your Honor.  We believe 
an appropriate sentence in this case is a term of two years 
of probation.  That sentence is within the properly 
calculated guideline range of 0 to 6 months.
      Ms. Bradley acknowledges that in May of 2021 she made 
a big mistake in filing the PPP loan application and that 
mistake will leave her with a felony conviction for the rest 
of her life.  That felony conviction has serious 
consequences, seriously affects her civil rights, and the 
felony conviction on its own serves a deterrent purpose for 
her and others in the community.  
     Despite having this felony conviction for the rest of 
her life, Ms. Bradley is familiar with adversity.  She had 
-- as Your Honor has read in both the sentencing memorandum 
and the Presentence Report, Ms. Bradley had a challenging 
childhood.  She had a challenging relationship with her 
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parents and ultimately -- ultimately lived in foster care in 
group homes for the later part of her teenage years.
     She is currently a single mother of three young 
children.  She has an eight-year-old -- a nine-year-old, an 
eight-year-old and a one-year-old.  And she has been not 
just a single mother, but the primary care giver to those 
children, the sole caregiver to those children for much of 
their lives.  
     Despite being the sole caregiver for three children, 
Ms. Bradley has maintained steady employment, working to 
provide for those children, and continues to do so. 
     I will note that the Status Report that the Probation 
Office submitted notes that Ms. Bradley recently lost her 
job.  She -- during -- when one of her children recently was 
experiencing a health crisis she was forced to leave work to 
take care of her child.  The note reports that she -- the 
Status Report notes that she was fired.  Ms. Bradley has 
informed me that HR was not able to fire her for that, that 
was a protected -- basically a protected ground.  She is 
still working through CAMC, but she is interviewing with 
different departments doing the same job that she was 
previously doing.  So, she -- while she is currently not 
assigned to a specific department, she is still working at 
CAMC, still working to basically find a new department doing 
the same work that she was previously doing.
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     As you read in the letters of support submitted to the 
Court, Ms. Bradley has been working with the Keep the Faith 
organization.  She has been volunteering her time, working 
with youth in the community.  She has been committed to her 
religion, committed to her church.  She has found a 
community that really supports her through this adversity.  
     Her pastor and her pastor's wife are both here to 
support her today.  Her grandmother is here to support her.  
Tim DiPiero, a local attorney and a family friend, is here 
to support her.  Ms. Bradley has the support of the 
community to move forward from this offense.  
     She also recently -- she's recently married to a man 
who is unconditionally supportive of her and her children 
and this is something that has been a huge step in the right 
direction for Ms. Bradley, having that support, having 
someone who is hopefully going to be able to help take some 
of the stress of raising three children off of her.  
     I think it's mentioned in her Presentence Report that 
she intends to move to Florida.  Her partner currently 
resides outside of Jacksonville and while, at this point, 
she's still planning to remain in West Virginia in -- over 
the course of the next several months, she is hoping to move 
to Florida to be with her partner and have that, that extra 
parental support, for her and for her kids.
     Despite the mistake that Ms. Bradley made in this case, 
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she is committed to moving forward from it.  She is 
committed to working, to pay restitution in this case.  She 
is committed to her dreams.  I know you read in my 
sentencing memorandum about her dream to open a group home.  
     And while this is a setback for Ms. Bradley, both 
financially and, you know, focused attention, that's still a 
dream that she has.  She still -- she's still dreaming of 
going back to school and opening this group home for 
children.  
     I know you also read in the letter submitted to the 
Court about the work that Ms. Bradley has been doing for her 
own mental health.  That's something that she is continuing 
to do, continuing to work with the Prestera Center to get 
the mental health treatment that she needs, something else 
that she can continue a term of probation, continue with 
that treatment, continue working to pay back her restitution 
obligation, and work on rebuilding her life to come back 
from this.
     So, Your Honor, we would argue a term of probation is 
sufficient but not greater than necessary for Ms. Bradley.  
     Thank you.
          THE COURT:  Ms. Bradley, you may address the 
Court.  I would be glad to hear anything you care to say, if 
you wish to speak.
          THE DEFENDANT:  Well, I'm really embarrassed.  
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This isn't how, for one, that I was raised.  
     I do accept responsibility for, you know, what I done.  
As she stated, it's been challenging trying to get certain 
jobs and stuff like that because of, you know, this 
situation, but I feel I have grown.  
     This is something, I explained to her, I was actually 
happy that they came looking for me.  It was like a weight 
off of my shoulders.  
     I tried to make the right decisions, you know, like 
it's been about three years, three, two years or so.  I've 
dealt with it spiritually.  I've dealt with it emotionally.  
Even physically, you know, I was very, I want to say, hard 
on myself.  I just never thought that I would be in the 
predicament that I am now.  
     You know, I've realized that even when you do things in 
the past now, that they come back, you know, on you and you 
have to deal with them one way or another, whether it's 
spiritually or naturally.  
     So, it's been a big lesson to me and I do apologize to 
the United States and to, you know, the other citizens.
          THE COURT:  Thank you.
     I will be glad to hear from the Assistant U. S. 
Attorney.  
MS. ROLLO:  Yes, Your Honor.  We believe that a 
five-year term of probation is sufficient but not greater 
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than necessary to achieve the objectives of sentencing.  
     Ms. Bradley fraudulently obtained over $18,000 for her 
fictitious hair salon and the entirety of those funds were 
used improperly, $12,000 of which were withdrawn in cash.  
Many individuals were financially struggling around that 
same time period.  Many grew up in less than ideal 
situations.  And many are forced to support their families 
on their own, but a vast majority did not fraudulently 
submit an application for a loan through the Paycheck 
Protection Program.  
     We also, though, understand that up until December Ms. 
Bradley was employed at CAMC and that since her departure 
from that particular position she's been interviewing for 
other departments within CAMC and hopes to be gainfully 
employed in the near future.
     We believe that a five-year term of probation would 
allow Ms. Bradley to secure and maintain gainful employment 
and that would be beneficial to her family, to the 
Government, and to the victim in this case.
     And that term would also serve to reflect the serious 
nature of Ms. Bradley's troubling conduct and hopefully 
deter others from engaging in similar conduct.  
     And, for those reasons, we would ask that the Court 
impose a five-year term of probation.
          THE COURT:  That could be reduced later on, 
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depending upon the defendant's performance while on 
probation, could it not?  
MS. ROLLO:  I believe it could, Your Honor, yes.
          THE COURT:  All right.
     Well, I'm ready to sentence you, Ms. Bradley, if you'll 
just stand up there with your counsel.
     Pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, it is 
the judgment of the Court that the defendant, Imeesha 
Bradley, is hereby sentenced to a term of probation for five 
years.  
     While on probation the defendant shall not commit 
another federal, state or local crime and shall comply with 
the mandatory standard -- and the additional standard 
conditions adopted by this Court.  And those conditions were 
included in the Presentence Report.  And so, the defendant 
and counsel will be placed on notice of them.  The Court 
feels no need to read all of them and they're quite 
extensive.  
     The defendant shall also comply with the following 
special conditions:  
     The defendant's not a resident of this district.  
Therefore, the period of supervised release is to be 
administered by the district where the defendant is a legal 
resident and/or the district where a suitable plan is 
developed.
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     Second, you must provide the probation officer with 
access to any requested financial information and authorize 
the release of any financial information which the Probation 
Office may share with the United States Attorney.
     Third, you must not incur new credit charges or open 
additional lines of credit without the approval of your 
probation officer.
     Fourth, you shall apply any monies received from income 
tax refunds, lottery winnings, judgments and any other 
anticipated or unanticipated financial gains to any 
outstanding court-imposed monitoring obligations.
     Fifth, the defendant shall cooperate with the Internal 
Revenue Service with regard to any civil audit for personal 
and business taxes and shall file all tax returns and 
amended tax returns as required.
     Six, you must make restitution in accordance with 18 
United States Code Sections 3663 and 3663(a).
     Seventh, you shall pay restitution in the amount of 
$18,703 with interest allowed by law to the fullest extent 
financially feasible.  
     The defendant shall pay restitution during her term of 
probation in monthly installments of no less than $300, or 
in another amount to be worked out with Probation, subject 
to the Court's approval.
     The Court finds the defendant does not have the 
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financial means to pay a fine and departs downward and 
imposes no fine.
     And although I made it a condition, I'm also going to 
order the restitution in the total amount of 18,703 with 
interest allowed by law as a part of this sentence.
     The defendant is ordered to pay a special assessment of 
$100, which the Court finds has been paid.
     The Court -- and I may have already said this, but I 
believe the defendant lacks the means to pay a guideline 
range fine and I depart downward and impose no fine.
     Is there any objection to the form of the sentence?  
MS. ROLLO:  No, Your Honor.  
MS. SZOPINSKI:  Your Honor, the only thing I would 
request is to -- for Your Honor to waive interest on the 
restitution payment based on a finding that Ms. Bradley does 
not have the means to pay interest on the restitution.
          THE COURT:  What's the Government have to say 
about that?  
MS. ROLLO:  Your Honor, we have no objection to 
that.
          THE COURT:  All right.  The interest requirement 
then is waived as part of the sentence.
     You may be seated while I give the reasons.  
MS. SZOPINSKI:  Thank you, Your Honor.
          THE COURT:  Ms. Bradley, I gave you a break here.  
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I couldn't see any reason under all the facts and 
circumstances of your case to put you in prison.  I don't 
think that would serve any useful purpose for you or your 
dependents and I do not -- and I think the sentence imposed, 
even without a term of incarceration under the facts and 
circumstances of your case, is sufficient to satisfy the 
statutory objectives of sentencing.
     In reaching my decision, I considered all the factors 
under 18 U. S. C. 3553(a), as well as the directives of 
applicable case lase, and I believe the sentence imposed is 
sufficient but not greater than necessary to achieve the 
authorities set forth in those -- the objectives set forth 
in those authorities.
     In reaching the decision to impose no fine, I make the 
following findings under 18 U. S. C. Section 3572(a):  
     Defendant's income, earning capacity and financial 
resources are as stated in the Presentence Report.  
     A guideline range fine or a fine in any amount would 
constitute an undue burden upon the defendant and persons 
financially dependent upon them.  
     There is no identifiable pecuniary loss inflicted upon 
others as a result of the offense that will not be restored 
through the order of restitution and the evidence shows no 
illegally obtained gains from the offense of conviction 
remaining in the defendant's possession.
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     Ms. Bradley, you have 14 days to appeal.  If you wish 
to appeal, you must file within that period of time a Notice 
of Appeal with the Clerk of this court.
     If you wish to appeal and cannot afford to hire counsel 
to represent you on appeal, counsel will be appointed for 
you and, if you so request, the Clerk of Court will prepare 
and file forthwith a Notice of Appeal on your behalf.
     Is there anything further to take up with regard to 
this matter today?  
MS. ROLLO:  Your Honor, we would just ask that the 
Court order her restitution be due and payable immediately 
and that Ms. Bradley be placed on the Treasury Offset 
Program.
          THE COURT:  Well, it -- it's due and payable 
immediately with the proviso that if she lacks the means to 
pay it immediately, it may be paid with a schedule of 
installments to be worked out with her probation supervisor 
subject to the Court's approval.  
MS. ROLLO:  Yes, Your Honor.  Thank you.
          THE COURT:  All right.  Do you have anything else, 
Ms. Szopinski?  
MS. SZOPINSKI:  No, Your Honor.
          THE COURT:  All right.  Ms. Bradley, the Court 
gave you a break here, and I believe you won't let me down.  
So, be sure you understand your obligations while on 
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probation and comply with them fully.  And, if things go 
well for you down the road, you will have the option to seek 
to have the five-year term reduced if the facts and 
circumstances warrant it but, for now, I gave you five years 
and you must understand your obligations and do your very 
best to comply with them.
          THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, sir.
          THE COURT:  Anything else?  
MS. SZOPINSKI:  No, Your Honor.  
MS. ROLLO:  No, Your Honor. 
     (Proceedings concluded at 11:19 a.m., January 9, 2024.)
CERTIFICATION:
     I, Ayme A. Cochran, Official Court Reporter, certify 
that the foregoing is a correct transcript from the record 
of proceedings in the above-entitled matters as reported on 
January 9, 2024.
s/Ayme A. Cochran, RMR, CRR                 May 1, 2024
Ayme A. Cochran, RMR, CRR                       DATE
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