United States v. Patrick Mire ( 2015 )


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  •      Case: 14-50248      Document: 00513230012         Page: 1    Date Filed: 10/13/2015
    REVISED October 13, 2015
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
    United States Court of Appeals
    Fifth Circuit
    No. 14-50248                                FILED
    Summary Calendar                         August 3, 2015
    Lyle W. Cayce
    Clerk
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee
    v.
    PATRICK G. MIRE,
    Defendant-Appellant
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Western District of Texas
    USDC No. 5:11-CR-62
    Before SMITH, BENAVIDES, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM: *
    Patrick G. Mire was convicted of one count of conspiring to commit mail
    fraud and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering and was
    sentenced to serve 36 months in prison and a three-year term of supervised
    release. The district court also ordered him to pay $10,000,000 in restitution
    and ordered forfeiture of this same amount.
    * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
    be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
    CIR. R. 47.5.4.
    Case: 14-50248     Document: 00513230012      Page: 2   Date Filed: 10/13/2015
    No. 14-50248
    Now, Mire argues that his conviction for conspiracy to launder money
    cannot stand because the factual basis offered in support of it is insufficient.
    Because Mire did not object in the district court to the sufficiency of the factual
    basis underlying his plea, plain error review applies. See United States v.
    Palmer, 
    456 F.3d 484
    , 489 (5th Cir. 2006); United States v. Vonn, 
    535 U.S. 55
    ,
    59 (2002).
    To establish plain error, Mire must show a forfeited error that is clear or
    obvious and that affects his substantial rights. Puckett v. United States, 
    556 U.S. 129
    , 135 (2009). To show that his substantial rights were affected, Mire
    must demonstrate “a reasonable probability that, but for the error, he would
    not have entered the plea.” United States v. Dominguez Benitez, 
    542 U.S. 74
    ,
    83 (2004). If Mire shows a clear or obvious error that infringed his substantial
    rights, we have the discretion to correct it but will do so only if it “seriously
    affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.”
    Puckett, 
    556 U.S. at 135
     (internal brackets, quotation marks and citation
    omitted). “Obtaining relief for Rule 11 violations on plain error review ‘will be
    difficult to get, as it should be.’” United States v. Hughes, 
    726 F.3d 656
    , 660
    (5th Cir. 2013) (quoting Dominguez Benitez, 
    542 U.S. at
    83 n.9).
    When using the plain error standard to determine if a factual basis is
    sufficient to uphold a plea, we may “look beyond those facts admitted by the
    defendant during the plea colloquy and scan the entire record for facts
    supporting his conviction.” United States v. Broussard, 
    669 F.3d 537
    , 546 (5th
    Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). We may also make
    inferences from the facts contained in the record. 
    Id.
    Mire has not shown plain error in connection with his claim that the
    factual basis offered in support of his money laundering charge is insufficient
    to support it. The record facts suffice to permit the district court to conclude
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    No. 14-50248
    that Mire knowingly and intentionally joined an agreement to launder money
    and thus provide a sufficient factual basis to uphold his money laundering
    conviction. See 
    18 U.S.C. § 1956
    (h); Broussard, 
    669 F.3d at 546
    . The record
    also undermines Mire’s claim that plain error resulted when the district court
    neglected to advise him of the nature of the charge in accordance with Federal
    Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(b)(1)(G). Additionally, the record does not
    support a conclusion that Mire would have insisted on going to trial absent
    these alleged errors. See Dominguez Benitez, 
    542 U.S. at 83
    . Mire has not
    shown that his conviction for conspiring to launder money should be vacated.
    Next, Mire argues that the Government breached the plea agreement
    with respect to its obligations concerning his restitution, thus permitting him
    to challenge this part of his sentence despite the appellate waiver clause in his
    plea agreement. Mire did not raise this claim in the district court. Although
    the record reflects that Mire quoted language in the plea agreement with
    respect to the government’s agreement to recommend apportioned restitution,
    he never actually argued that the government breached the agreement.
    Instead, he simply made arguments urging the court to order a lesser amount
    of restitution, which does not preserve the separate claim of breach of plea
    agreement. Thus, we review the claim for plain error. See United States v.
    Hebron, 
    684 F.3d 554
    , 557-58 (5th Cir. 2012).        Our review of the record
    controverts Mire’s argument that the Government shirked its obligation to
    recommend that Mire’s restitution be calculated according to his involvement
    in and enrichment from the underlying scheme. Accordingly, Mire’s claim
    concerning a breach of his plea agreement is unavailing.
    Despite his waiver of his appellate rights with respect to his sentence,
    Mire seeks to challenge his restitution order. He argues that he should be
    permitted to do so because the district court neglected to bring the waiver to
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    his attention at rearraignment in accordance with Federal Rule of Criminal
    Procedure 11(b)(1)(N). Because Mire’s argument that his waiver should be
    vitiated is grounded in a Rule 11 omission, the plain error standard applies.
    See United States v. Oliver, 
    630 F.3d 397
    , 411 (5th Cir. 2011); United States v.
    Goodson, 
    544 F.3d 529
    , 539 n.9 (5th Cir. 2008). He has not met this standard
    because he has not shown a reasonable probability that he would have declined
    to enter his plea absent the error. See Oliver, 
    630 F.3d at 412
    . Likewise
    unavailing are Mire’s arguments that the waiver does not cover his restitution
    order because the order is not part of his sentence and because he is arguing
    that it is illegal. See United States v. Keele, 
    755 F.3d 752
    , 756-57 (5th Cir.
    2014), cert. denied, 
    135 S. Ct. 1174
     (2015). The waiver is valid and precludes
    consideration of Mire’s challenge to his restitution order. See United States v.
    Bond, 
    414 F.3d 542
    , 544 (5th Cir. 2005). We thus decline to consider this claim.
    Finally, Mire argues, and the government agrees, that the forfeiture
    order in his judgment is invalid because the procedures outlined in Federal
    Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2 were ignored. We agree. Accordingly, Mire’s
    convictions and sentences, including the district court’s restitution order, are
    AFFIRMED, and the order of forfeiture is REVERSED.
    4