Opinion and Order — United States v. Norton (Dkt. 100, N.D. Ga.)

Summary

The court denied Chandra Norton's motion for compassionate release on August 18, 2026, in Case No. 1:20-cr-00297 in the Northern District of Georgia. Norton was charged on August 14, 2020 with wire fraud conspiracy in a scheme that obtained nearly $15 million in PPP loans, pleaded guilty on November 12, 2020, and was sentenced on August 14, 2024 to 18 months in custody and $4,425,002.23 in restitution. The court had postponed the surrender date several times on medical grounds, and the motion sought home confinement or surrender after June 2027. The opinion finds the sentence was already below the reduced guideline range of 24 to 30 months and the medical problems are no longer extraordinary and compelling. It directs the Marshals Service to set a surrender date as soon as practicable.

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Case 1:20-cr-00297-SDG Document100- Filed 08/18/26 Page1of9

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

ATLANTA DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Criminal Action No.
Vv. 1:20-cr-00297-SDG
CHANDRA NORTON REDACTED
OPINION AND ORDER

This matter is before the Court on the motion for compassionate release filed
by Defendant Chandra Norton [ECF 79]. The government opposes the motion.!
For the following reasons, Norton’s motion is DENIED.

I. Background

On August 14, 2020, Norton was charged with one count of wire fraud
conspiracy in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP loans.? Norton
and her co-conspirator wrongfully obtained nearly $15 million through this
scheme. Norton pleaded guilty on November 12, 2020.4 On August 14, 2024, the
Court sentenced her to 18 months in custody, with three years of supervised

release, and ordered her to pay restitution of $4,425,002.23.5 At the same time,

1 ECF 82.

2 ECF 1.

3. ECF 74 (sealed), at 10-12.
4 ECF 10; Nov. 12, 2020 D.E.

° ECFs 62, 63. Before that, Norton’s sentencing was continued numerous times.


Case 1:20-cr-00297-SDG Document100_ Filed 08/18/26 Page 2of9

however, the Court delayed Norton’s surrender date until at least February 14,
2025 based on her then-current health and medical condition. The Court later
extended Norton’s surrender date several times for the same reasons.’

Norton now asks to reduce her sentence to home confinement or to extend
her surrender date. She initially requested the Court extend the surrender date to
December 31, 2026, but recently revised that to “beyond” June 2027,8 even though

her medical condition has improved since the sentencing. Norton identifies

numerous health problems, [is
ee
The Court’s extensions of her surrender date beyond February 2025 permitted

Norton to continue her treatment for several of her medical conditions, P|

ECFs 24, 41, 44, 49, 53, 56.
6 ECF 62; ECF 74 (sealed), at 82-83.
7 ECFs 75, 78, 88.

8 While Norton’s initial motion (filed in November 2025) asked for a surrender
date of December 31, 2026 [ECF 79], at a June 2026 evidentiary hearing, counsel
asked for her surrender date to be “sometime after June 2027” [ECF 97].

9 ECF 79, at 2-3.


Case 1:20-cr-00297-SDG Document100_ Filed 08/18/26 Page3of9

es The Court held an

evidentiary hearing on Norton’s compassionate release motion on June 25, 2026.11

II. Applicable Law

The Court “may reduce the term of imprisonment” on a finding that
“extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction.” 18 U.S.C
§ 3582(c)(1)(A); see also U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(a) (stating that a sentence may be reduced
if extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant the reduction, the defendant is
not a danger to the community, and the reduction is consistent with the policy
statement). Circumstances that qualify as extraordinary and compelling may
include the movant’s medical condition or family circumstances. U.S.S.G.
§ 1B1.13(b)(1)(B),  (b)(3).. The medical condition must be “serious” and
“substantially diminish[ | the ability of the [movant] to provide self-care within
the environment of a correctional facility and [be something] from which he or she
is not expected to recover.” Id. § 1B1.13(b)(1)(B). The movant “bears the burden of
establishing that compassionate release is warranted.” United States v. Rodriguez-

Orejuela, 457 F. Supp. 3d 1275, 1282 (S.D. Fla. 2020).

10 Id. at 2.
11 ECF 97.


Case 1:20-cr-00297-SDG Document100_ Filed 08/18/26 Page4of9

III. Discussion

At sentencing, the Court granted the government’s motion to reduce
Norton’s sentence based on her substantial assistance.!2 In fact, the sentence the
Court imposed was below even the reduced guideline range of 24 to 30 months
based on that substantial assistance.!5 But the Court declined to impose the
sentence requested by Norton—five years of probation and 24 months of home
confinement.!4 Norton did not then, and has not now, shown any convincing
reason to further reduce her custodial sentence. And, while her current medical
problems are numerous and substantial, they are no longer extraordinary and
compelling; they will not substantially diminish her ability to provide self-care
within a custodial setting. United States v. Giron, 15 F.4th 1343, 1346 (11th Cir. 2021)
(holding there was no abuse of discretion in the district court’s denial of
compassionate release where the prisoner’s medical conditions were manageable
in prison). The BOP is capable of managing and treating them. Nor has Norton
provided any legitimate explanation for pushing her surrender date to December

31, 2026 or beyond in light of the substantial progress in her recovery to date.

12 ECF 58 (motion); ECF 74 (sealed), at 84.
13 ECF 74 (sealed), at 84.
14 Id. at 56.


Case 1:20-cr-00297-SDG Document100 Filed 08/18/26 Page5of9

Norton has always indicated that [is

was estimated to end around June 2027, but her initial motion still

only asked to delay her reporting until December 2026.15 The motion emphasized

the importance to Norton’s health Pn
ee And the government agreed
during the sentencing hearing to recommend that Norton’s surrender date be
delayed
| In connection with Norton's sentencing, Dr. Kenneth Russell, the Bureau of
Prisons’ (BOP) Regional Medical Director for the South Central Region, opined
that the BOP would be capable of providing “competent and sufficient” care for

remanded” into the BOP’s custody.!® Dr. Russell later clarified (during the

evidentiary hearing) that his declaration was referring to Po

15 ECF 79, at 18-19.
16 Td. at 8. See also ECF 74 (sealed), at 53.

In a subsequent filing, Norton reported that

arguing that
these provided additional grounds for her compassionate release motion.

ECF 81. Those reasons no longer exist

ECF 97.
17 ECF 74 (sealed), at 66.
18 ECF 61, at 2.


Case 1:20-cr-00297-SDG Document100_ Filed 08/18/26 Page6of9

ee Norton

has been designated to FMC-Carswell, which is a Care Level 4 medical facility.

Dr. Russell indicated that the BOP can adequately address Norton’s medical

conditions at Carswell now that she has Po
eee
ee © Norton has not presented
any evidence that [i
PT She did not show any medical
necessity to her health iii
ee

| Defense counsel emphasized that the biggest health problem Norton

19 ECF 79, at 15-16; ECF 97.
20 ECF 97.
21 ECF 74 (sealed), at 54.

22. ECF 97. At the sentencing hearin
that Norton

in August 2024, defense counsel reported

. ECF 74 (sealed), at 53.


Case 1:20-cr-00297-SDG Document100- Filed 08/18/26 Page/7of9

currently faces relates to her high blood pressure; Dr. Russell stated that the BOP
has the ability to treat this condition and to regularly monitor Norton.”

Regardless, Norton now asks for an even greater reduction in her sentence
or later reporting date than what was included in her motion. During the
evidentiary hearing, defense counsel asked for Norton to be resentenced to 24
months of probation (with nine months of home confinement) or, alternatively, be
allowed to surrender beyond June 2027.24 But the date for Po
| | has not changed since Norton’s sentencing.

This is not to minimize Norton’s health problems nor the documented
problems with the health care provided by the BOP. But Norton’s reasons for
wanting to remain free a while longer do not satisfy § 3582 or U.SS.G.
§ 1B1.13(b)(1)(B). See, e.g., United States v. Rodriguez-Mendez, 168 F.4th 1123, 1128
(8th Cir. 2026) (holding that a delay in care for severe spinal stenosis did not
constitute a denial of specialized medical care and that the movant had not shown
the delays put him “at risk of serious deterioration in health or death”; upholding
the denial of a § 3582(c) motion); United States v. Williams, 161 F.4th 951 (6th Cir.
2025) (upholding the denial of compassionate release where the district court

concluded that, under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(1)(C), extraordinary and compelling

23. ECF 97.
24 Id.


Case 1:20-cr-00297-SDG Document100_ Filed 08/18/26 Page 8of9

reasons did not exist where the movant suffered from thrombophilia and deep
vein thrombosis, which lead to blood clot formation and possible life-threatening
complications, and the movant had experienced delays in treatment, because the
movant did not show that he was receiving insufficient treatment that put him at
risk of a serious deterioration in his health); Rodriguez-Orejuela, 457 F. Supp. 3d at
1283 (S.D. Fla. 2020) (“While the Court does not doubt that many of [defendant's]
ailments impose significant hardship, the standard for a sentencing reduction
requires something more: a chronic or serious medical condition and deteriorating
mental or physical health that substantially diminishes his ability to function in a
correctional facility.”) (cleaned up).

IV. Conclusion

Norton has not shown that there are currently extraordinary and compelling
reasons to reduce her sentence nor to delay her surrender date any further. Her
motion for compassionate release [ECF 79] is DENIED. The Clerk is DIRECTED
to provide a copy of this Order to the United States Marshals Service and United

States Probation Office.


Case 1:20-cr-00297-SDG Documenti100_ Filed 08/18/26 Page 9of9

The United States Marshals Service is DIRECTED to provide Norton with
a date to voluntarily surrender as soon as practicable.

SO ORDERED this 18th day of August, 2026.

ge D. Grimberg

United States District Judge

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