The opinion
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED
________________________ U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-15463 FEBRUARY 13, 2009
________________________ THOMAS K. KAHN
CLERK
D. C. Docket No. 06-80148-CR-KLR
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
GARY KAFKA,
SONDRA PASTORE,
Defendants-Appellants.
________________________
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
_________________________
(February 13, 2009)
Before TJOFLAT, BLACK and COX, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Gary Kafka and Sondra Pastore appeal their fraud and conspiracy
convictions, and Kafka appeals his false statement convictions, arguing the
evidence presented by the Government was insufficient to support their
convictions. Pastore also appeals her 30-month sentence, arguing the district court
clearly erred in failing to provide her with a minor-role reduction. After review of
the record and the parties’ briefs, and having the benefit of oral argument, we
affirm their convictions and Pastore’s sentence.1
Appellants submitted fraudulent financial and employment information to
multiple financial institutions from November 2001 through April 2006. They
contend the false statements were not material, could have been investigated by the
institutions, and were not relied upon. A false statement is material if it is “one
having a natural tendency to influence, or capable of influencing, the decision
maker to whom it is addressed.” United States v. Hasson, 333 F.3d 1264, 1271
(11th Cir. 2003).
At trial, representatives for the institutions testified approval of the loans
was based in part on a debt-to-income ratio calculation. Had Appellants reported
actual incomes on the applications, the loans would not have been funded.
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Appellants also argue the district court erred by denying their motions to suppress the
evidence obtained as a result of a subpoena issued by the grand jury. After review, we conclude
this argument is meritless.
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Moreover, a fraud investigator testified Kafka would not have qualified for the line
of credit had the institution known Kafka was incarcerated and making no income.
Based on trial testimony, we conclude the falsified information was material to
obtaining approval of the various loans and credit lines because Appellants would
not have qualified using actual income and employment information. The record
establishes Appellants misled Kafka’s probation officer, lied to lenders to use
credit lines, and submitted falsified mortgage applications on behalf of themselves
and third parties. Accordingly, we conclude sufficient evidence supports
Appellants’ fraud and conspiracy convictions.
With regard to Kafka’s false statement convictions, the record establishes
Kafka lied about the details of his employment, financial status, the existence of
his assets and liabilities, and his ability to pay restitution. These false statements
were material because they influenced how the probation office determined the
amount of Kafka’s restitution payments. Further, some of Kafka’s false
statements, such as denying his accumulation of additional debt, violated special
conditions of his supervised release. We conclude sufficient evidence supports
Kafka’s false statement convictions.
Finally, the district court did not clearly err in finding Pastore was not
entitled to a minor-role reduction, as she was only held responsible for the fraud
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amount to which she stipulated, and her role was not minor compared to her co-
defendants. Accordingly, we affirm her sentence.
AFFIRMED.
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