Government's Sentencing Position — United States v. Christopher John Badsey
Summary
Government's Sentencing Position for Christopher John Badsey, filed July 5, 2024 as Document 89 in No. SA CR 21-124-JLS, with a hearing date of July 19, 2024. In April 2023 he pled guilty to four counts of wire fraud for falsely promising millions of boxes of nitrile gloves, taking over $3 million in deposits through First Defense International Security Services Corporation. The court later found he breached his plea agreement by submitting forged documents. The Probation Office calculates a guidelines range of 63 to 78 months and recommends 78 months; the government recommends 72 months, three years of supervised release, a $400 special assessment and restitution of $1,938,990 to three victims.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Government's Sentencing Position — United States v. Christopher John Badsey.”
Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/court-filing-c-d-cal-no-8-21-cr-00124-dkt-89-c-d-cal-101a6745fa/
, SHA-256 12e4ed85e8af33be3f3da59219fe19dedb4669fe68ab847e185c7943d1ba34c9.Full text
Case 8:21-cr-00124-JLS Document 89 Filed 07/05/24 Page 1 of 9 Page ID #:498
1 E. MARTIN ESTRADA
United States Attorney
2 MACK E. JENKINS
Assistant United States Attorney
3 Chief, Criminal Division
ANNE C. GANNON
4 Assistant United States Attorney
Chief, Santa Ana Branch Office
5 KRISTIN N. SPENCER (Cal. Bar No. 294692)
MELISSA S. RABBANI (Cal. Bar No. 283993)
6 Assistant United States Attorneys
U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
7 411 West Fourth Street, Suite 8000
Santa Ana, California 92701
8 Telephone: (714) 338-3500
Facsimile: (714) 338-3561
9 E-mail: kristin.spencer@usdoj.gov
melissa.rabbani@usdoj.gov
10
Attorneys for Plaintiff
11 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
13 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
14
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. SA CR 21-124-JLS
15
Plaintiff, GOVERNMENT’S SENTENCING POSITION
16
v. Hearing Date: July 19, 2024
17 9:30 a.m.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN BADSEY,
18
Defendant.
19
20
21 Plaintiff United States of America, by and through its counsel
22 of record, the United States Attorney for the Central District of
23 California and Assistant United States Attorneys Kristin Spencer and
24 Melissa Rabbani, hereby submits its position regarding sentencing.
25 The government’s position is based upon the attached memorandum
26 of points and authorities, the files and records in this case, the
27 revised Presentence Report (“PSR”) and revised disclosed
28 recommendation letter filed on February 26, 2024, and any other
Case 8:21-cr-00124-JLS Document 89 Filed 07/05/24 Page 2 of 9 Page ID #:499
1 evidence or argument that the Court may wish to consider at the time
2 of sentencing.
3
4 Dated: July 5, 2024 Respectfully submitted,
5 E. MARTIN ESTRADA
United States Attorney
6
MACK E. JENKINS
7 Assistant United States Attorney
Chief, Criminal Division
8
9 _/s/ Melissa S. Rabbani_______
KRISTIN N. SPENCER
10 MELISSA S. RABBANI
Assistant United States Attorney
11
Attorneys for Plaintiff
12 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
2
Case 8:21-cr-00124-JLS Document 89 Filed 07/05/24 Page 3 of 9 Page ID #:500
1 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES
2 I. INTRODUCTION
3 In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, defendant Christopher
4 John Badsey (“defendant”) falsely promised to sell millions of boxes
5 of nitrile gloves – critical personal protective equipment that was
6 in short supply worldwide – to buyers in the medical industry.
7 Through his company, defendant accepted over $3 million in deposits
8 for those gloves from potential purchasers. But by his own
9 admission, defendant never had possession of or access to any such
10 gloves, never delivered any such gloves, and never returned the
11 deposits he received. Instead, defendant and others used the deposit
12 money to make expensive purchases, all while stringing would-be
13 purchasers along with false stories, including absurd claims that
14 government agents were blocking access to his warehouse of gloves.
15 Based on that conduct, in April 2023, defendant pled guilty to
16 four counts of wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States
17 Code, Section 1343. Dkts. 57, 61.
18 Earlier this year, defendant submitted a sentencing memorandum
19 attaching several “letters of support” and a purported medical record
20 that were determined to be forged.
21 Following that revelation, the United States Probation Office
22 (“USPO”) filed a revised Presentence Report (“PSR”) on February 26,
23 2024. Dkt. 84. The USPO determined that the total applicable
24 offense level in this case is 25 and that defendant’s criminal
25 history is in category II, resulting in a guidelines range of 63 to
26 78 months. Id. at 4. The USPO recommends that the Court impose a
27 high-end sentence of 78 months’ custody, followed by a three-year
28 period of supervised release, and order a special assessment of $400.
Case 8:21-cr-00124-JLS Document 89 Filed 07/05/24 Page 4 of 9 Page ID #:501
1 Dkt. 83. The USPO further recommends that defendant be ordered to
2 pay restitution of $1,938,990 to three victims, as defendant agreed
3 to do in the plea agreement. Dkt. 83; see also Dkt. 57 at 8.
4 The government agrees with the USPO’s calculations and its
5 recommended order of restitution. The government respectfully
6 recommends a slightly lower, mid-range sentence of 72 months’
7 custody, followed by a three-year term of supervised release, and
8 believes this sentence is sufficient, but not greater than necessary,
9 to achieve the goals of sentencing set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
10 II. SUMMARY OF RELEVANT FACTS
11 The facts below relating to the offense conduct in this case are
12 taken from the plea agreement defendant signed on April 7, 2023.
13 In June and July 2020, in Orange and Los Angeles Counties,
14 defendant knowingly devised, participated in, and executed a scheme
15 to defraud Victim Companies 1, 2, and 3 by means of material false
16 and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and the
17 concealment of material facts.
18 In particular, defendant falsely represented to Victim Companies
19 1, 2, and 3 that he had access to millions of boxes of medical-grade
20 nitrile gloves, personal protective equipment that was in high demand
21 and short supply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the company
22 that he owned and controlled, First Defense International Security
23 Services Corporation (“FDI”), defendant entered into contractual
24 agreements with Victim Companies 1, 2, and 3 to sell each company
25 millions of boxes of gloves. Defendant then told representatives
26 from Victim Companies 1, 2, and 3 that before they could inspect the
27 gloves, which were stored in a warehouse in Los Angeles, the
28 companies would be required to pay deposits upwards of $1 million to
2
Case 8:21-cr-00124-JLS Document 89 Filed 07/05/24 Page 5 of 9 Page ID #:502
1 FDI. In fact, defendant did not have any gloves stored in any
2 warehouse. Defendant knew that his statements were false and acted
3 with the intent to defraud Victim Companies 1, 2, and 3.
4 To execute his scheme, defendant instructed representatives of
5 Victim Companies 1, 2, and 3 to transmit the deposits by wire
6 transfer to bank accounts controlled by defendant himself, a co-
7 schemer, and/or FDI. Relying on defendant’s false representations
8 that he had millions of boxes of nitrile gloves to sell,
9 representatives from Victim Companies 1, 2, and 3 made the requested
10 wire transfers. In particular, defendant caused the transmission of
11 the following items by means of wire communication in interstate and
12 foreign commerce:
13 a. On June 15, 2020, a deposit of $1,174,990 from Victim
14 Company 1 to defendant’s bank account;
15 b. On June 17, 2020, a partial deposit of $787,000 from
16 Victim Company 2 to defendant’s bank account;
17 c. On June 17, 2020, a partial deposit of $270,000 from
18 Victim Company 2 to defendant’s bank account; and
19 d. On July 2, 2020, a deposit of $1,000,000 from Victim
20 Company 3 to defendant’s co-schemer’s bank account.
21 As part of his plea agreement, defendant agreed that he would be
22 required to pay full restitution to the victims of his offenses. See
23 Dkt 57 at 8. Defendant also agreed to forfeit certain assets, at
24 least some of which were purchased with the proceeds from his
25 fraudulent scheme.1
26
27
Those assets have been administratively forfeited to the
1
28 Federal Bureau of Investigation. As such, no order of forfeiture is
needed from this Court.
3
Case 8:21-cr-00124-JLS Document 89 Filed 07/05/24 Page 6 of 9 Page ID #:503
1 Defendant was set to be sentenced in February 2024. On January
2 26, 2024, defendant submitted a sentencing position attaching a
3 number of exhibits, including several “letters of support” from
4 purported friends and acquaintances and a purported medical record
5 documenting a brain cancer diagnosis from 2017. See Dkt. 72 at 3;
6 Dkt. 72-1 at 10, 12-28. The USPO and the government contacted
7 several of the purported authors of those character letters and
8 learned not only that those letters had been forged, but that
9 following his initial appearance in 2021, defendant forged the
10 signature of his proposed surety and used a copy of the proposed
11 surety’s driver’s license without his authorization. See Dkt. 85 at
12 2-4. Defendant has provided no additional documentation supporting
13 the purported medical record – which appears suspect on its face.
14 See id.
15 In response to a motion by the government, this Court found that
16 defendant had breached his plea agreement by submitting those forged
17 documents and that the government was thus released from its
18 obligations under the plea agreement. See Dkt. 86. As a result, the
19 government is no longer bound by the terms of the plea agreement –
20 which required, among other things, that the government recommend a
21 low-end sentence under the Guidelines. See Dkt. 57 at 6-7.
22 III. PRESENTENCE REPORT
23 The USPO determined the base offense level to be 7. Dkt. 84 at
24 14. The USPO then applied a 16-level increase because of the loss
25 amount resulting from defendant’s fraudulent scheme, as well as a
26 two-level increase for defendant’s obstruction of justice in
27 submitting forged documents to the USPO and to the Court. Id. at 14-
28 16. Notably, the USPO declined to apply any decrease for acceptance
4
Case 8:21-cr-00124-JLS Document 89 Filed 07/05/24 Page 7 of 9 Page ID #:504
1 of responsibility, given that defendant has failed to withdraw from
2 criminal conduct and has engaged in conduct constituting obstruction
3 of justice. Id. at 16-17. Thus, the USPO calculated the total
4 offense level in this case as 25. Id. at 17.
5 The USPO also determined that defendant’s total criminal history
6 score for this offense is two, resulting in a criminal history
7 category of II and a guidelines range of 63 to 78 months. Dkt. 84 at
8 19-21, 30.
9 The USPO recommends that the Court impose a high-end sentence of
10 78 months’ custody, followed by a three-year period of supervised
11 release. Dkt. 53. The USPO also recommends that defendant be
12 ordered to pay a total of $1,938,990 in restitution to three victims:
13 Terry Booth ($668,990), Christiaan van der Velde ($270,000), and John
14 Anthony Bijan Faranghui ($1,000,000). Id. at 1. Finally, the USPO
15 recommends that all fines be waived, as defendant has no ability to
16 pay. Id. at 2.
17 IV. THE GOVERNMENT’S POSITION
18 The government concurs with the USPO’s calculations and its
19 recommended order of restitution. However, the government recommends
20 a slightly lower, mid-range sentence of 72 months’ custody. The
21 government believes this sentence is sufficient, but not greater than
22 necessary, to achieve the goals of sentencing set forth in 18 U.S.C.
23 § 3553(a).
24 Defendant took advantage of a global pandemic. While tens of
25 thousands of Americans died of COVID, and millions of Americans
26 upended their daily lives to mitigate its spread, defendant saw only
27 an opportunity to line his own pockets. Through repeated and often
28 fantastical lies, defendant obtained over $3 million in deposit money
5
Case 8:21-cr-00124-JLS Document 89 Filed 07/05/24 Page 8 of 9 Page ID #:505
1 for products he never had. When confronted, defendant continued to
2 lie and refused to refund any deposit money. Moreover, defendant’s
3 personal history, as discussed in the PSR, reveals a troubling
4 history of deceit and theft – and an aversion to honest work.
5 In addition, nothing about this criminal prosecution seems to
6 have deterred defendant’s worst instincts. After his arrest,
7 defendant submitted forged documentation to keep himself out of
8 custody. And as his sentencing approached, defendant forged a number
9 of character letters in the hopes of reducing his own sentence.
10 Based on those facts, the government believes that a sentence of
11 72 months’ custody is appropriate and necessary to, among other
12 things, punish defendant and deter him from attempting similar
13 schemes in the future.
14 In addition, as defendant himself has agreed, he should be
15 ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his crimes. The
16 government agrees with the USPO’s recommendation that defendant be
17 ordered to pay restitution as set forth in the USPO’s disclosed
18 recommendation letter. See Dkt. 83. The government further agrees
19 that defendant has demonstrated an inability to pay any fine, and the
20 government agrees with the USPO’s recommendation that all fines be
21 waived. See id.
22 V. CONCLUSION
23 As set forth above, the government respectfully recommends that
24 the Court (i) impose a sentence of 72 months’ custody, to be followed
25 by a three-year period of supervised release; (ii) order a mandatory
26 special assessment of $400; and (iii) order defendant to pay
27 restitution as set forth in the PSR and the USPO’s disclosed
28 recommendation letter. The government submits that this sentence is
6
Case 8:21-cr-00124-JLS Document 89 Filed 07/05/24 Page 9 of 9 Page ID #:506
1 sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to punish defendant,
2 promote respect for the law, deter defendant from committing similar
3 crimes in the future, and avoid sentencing disparities. See
4 generally 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
7
File and source
- File
- 89.pdf
- Size
- 121,445 bytes
- SHA-256
- 12e4ed85e8af33be3f3da59219fe19dedb4669fe68ab847e185c7943d1ba34c9
- Our copy
- 89.pdf
- Original
- No public link identified.