United States v. Matthew G. Munksgard

USCA11 Case: 22-14244 Document: 49-1 Date Filed: 12/05/2023 Page: 1 of 14
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 22-14244
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
MATTHEW G. MUNKSGARD,
Defendant-Appellant.
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Florida
D.C. Docket No. 1:22-cr-00017-AW-GRJ-1
____________________
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2 Opinion of the Court 22-14244
Before GRANT, BRASHER, and ABUDU, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Matthew Munksgard appeals his conviction and sentence of
18 months’ imprisonment for making materially false statements,
in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. On appeal, he argues, for the first
time, that his conviction violates the Double Jeopardy Clause be-
cause the conduct establishing his § 1001 conviction was also used
to revoke his supervised release that resulted from a prior convic-
tion. He also argues that his 18-month sentence is substantively
unreasonable because the court based its upward variance on in-
formation outside of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and infor-
mation already accounted for in the calculation of his guideline
range. After review, we affirm.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND & PROCEDURAL
HISTORY
In 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Munksgard on four
counts of making a false statement on a loan application and one
count of aggravated identity theft. In 2016, a jury convicted
Munksgard on all counts. He was sentenced to a total of 30
months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised re-
lease, and he was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of
$197,995.34. Munksgard’s conditions of supervised release in-
cluded the requirements that he truthfully answer his probation of-
ficer’s inquiries and “provide the probation officer any requested
financial information, both business and personal.” Munksgard
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22-14244 Opinion of the Court 3
appealed, and a panel of this Court affirmed his conviction. United
States v. Munksgard, 913 F.3d 1327 (11th Cir. 2019).
On November 23, 2021, Munksgard’s probation officer filed
a petition for warrant or summons against Munksgard, alleging
that he had violated his conditions of supervised release. The peti-
tion alleged that Munksgard had committed nine different viola-
tions of his supervised release conditions, including: (1) failing to
make required restitution payments; (2) leaving the judicial district
without permission on four different occasions; (3) submitting
monthly financial reports with inaccurate or missing information;
(4) failing to provide the probation officer with requested financial
information; and (5) failing to refrain from violating the law by
making false statements to the probation officer on two occasions,
both in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. The probation officer recom-
mended that the district court issue a summons for Munksgard to
appear and show cause as to why his supervised release should not
be revoked. As a result, the district court executed a summons
against Munksgard.
On August 1, 2022, an information charged Munksgard with
one count of making materially false statements, in violation of 18
U.S.C. § 1001. The information alleged that Munksgard submitted
a monthly financial report for June 2020, as required by the condi-
tions of his supervised release, that knowingly and willfully omit-
ted his receipt of a check for $24,000.
The next day, the district court held a hearing to address the
petition for revocation of Munksgard’s supervised release and to
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address his change of plea for the § 1001 charge. The court recited
the allegations contained in the probation officer’s petition, which
Munksgard admitted to committing. Based on his admissions, the
court found Munksgard violated his terms of supervised release.
The district court then moved to the new charge against
Munksgard. Munksgard indicated he was ready to enter a guilty
plea for the § 1001 charge, prompting the court to begin a plea col-
loquy. However, after discussions with Munksgard, the probation
officer and counsel for both parties, the court rejected Munksgard’s
guilty plea, finding that he did not adequately admit that his false
statement was made “knowingly and willfully” as required by
§ 1001.
Shortly thereafter, the court held a second change of plea
hearing. The court questioned Munksgard on his failure to include
his $24,000 income on his monthly report to the probation officer.
After this discussion, the court was satisfied with Munksgard’s ad-
mission to each of the elements of his § 1001 charge, and it accepted
his guilty plea pursuant to a written plea agreement and statement
of facts.
The probation officer then prepared Munksgard’s presen-
tence investigation report (“PSI”), which set Munkgard’s base level
offense at six pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(a)(2). The PSI applied a
two-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility pursuant to
§ 3E1.1(b), yielding a total offense level of four. The PSI also re-
ported Munksgard’s criminal history, which included a 2000 arrest
for providing a false odometer reading and his 2015 convictions for
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making false statements on loan applications and aggravated iden-
tity theft. Because Munksgard committed the instant offense while
on supervised release from his 2015 conviction, the PSI added two
criminal history points. This resulted in a total of five criminal his-
tory points, yielding a criminal history category of III. Based on
these findings, the PSI calculated Munksgard’s guideline range as
zero to six months’ imprisonment. The PSI further noted that the
§ 1001 offense carried a maximum term of five years’ imprison-
ment. Neither party objected to the PSI.
At sentencing, Munksgard presented testimony from Tony
Boyette, who employed Munksgard through his commercial sur-
vey company called Landguard. Boyette described Munksgard as
an integral part of his team at the company. Boyette stated that, in
addition to paying Munksgard a regular salary, he provided
Munksgard with advance income to assist him with repairing the
roof of his house and paying off the restitution amount Munksgard
owed in his prior criminal case. Boyette described these payments
as advancements on work Munksgard was going to do for
Landguard in the future.
The district court then informed Munksgard of his right of
allocution, and Munksgard responded by apologizing “for all of us
being here.” The court then heard arguments as to each party’s
recommended sentence. The government stated that its argument
was intended to address both the revocation sentence and the
§ 1001 offense, and that Munkgard’s behaviors demonstrate a pat-
tern of conduct of dishonesty, fraud, and a willful disregard to his
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probation officer’s instructions. The government also argued that
a harsher sentence would advance both specific and general deter-
rence and requested that the court impose an upward variance.
The court responded to the government’s argument by not-
ing that Munksgard’s violation of his supervised release and his
prior offense both contained an aspect of fraud. The court ex-
pressed serious concern about his prior offense and the violation of
his supervised release as both being rooted in dishonesty. The
court further stated that Munksgard received a “very lenient . . .
below guideline sentence” for his prior offense, yet he continued
to engage in the same conduct upon release. The court later noted
that its reference to Munksgard’s lenient sentence in his prior case
was not meant to suggest its belief that the sentence was inappro-
priate or incorrect, but to explain that most people who received a
more lenient sentence would want to put their criminal histories
behind them.
Munksgard then presented his mitigation argument, con-
tending that other figures in his life had led him down the road re-
sulting in his prior conviction. He argued that his prior time in
prison impacted his life, and that he did not want to go back and
instead believed counseling would be better. He further argued
that a prison sentence in this case would not advance general de-
terrence and that he did not pose a danger to the community.
Munksgard requested that his supervised release be continued with
no prison time.
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Ultimately, the court sentenced Munksgard to 18 months
for the § 1001 violation and 10 months for the supervised release
revocation, set to run consecutively for a total of 28 months’ im-
prisonment. The court acknowledged that the sentence was un
upward variance for the § 1001 violation, but it noted the super-
vised release sentence was within guidelines. As to the § 1001 con-
viction, the court characterized the sequence of Munksgard’s con-
duct as “egregious,” and stated that it was not sure that Munksgard
fully accepted responsibility or appreciated the gravity of his of-
fense. The court emphasized that Munksgard was given an oppor-
tunity to put his fraudulent behaviors behind him upon his release
from prison, but then failed to take advantage of that opportunity.
The court recognized that Munksgard had paid his restitution, but
that it was only paid after he made many efforts to avoid paying it.
The court also expressed its belief that, because Munksgard had not
expressed sincere regret or remorse for his actions, a severe sen-
tence was necessary to deter Munksgard and others from similar
behavior. The court explained its concern that the § 1001 offense
followed a conviction and sentence for fraud. The court stated that
the guideline range simply did not account for Munksgard’s dis-
honest history and nature. Lastly, the courted explained that an
upward variance was justified by a need to protect the public from
further frauds by Munksgard.
The district court then explained its sentence for the revoca-
tion of Munksgard’s supervised release, which it had considered
separately from its sentencing decision for the § 1001 violation. Fi-
nally, the court stated that it had considered all the § 3553(a) factors
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8 Opinion of the Court 22-14244
before reiterating its sentence of 28 months’ total imprisonment, a
$7,500 fine, and three years of supervised release.
After sentencing, the district court filed a Statement of Rea-
sons outlining the basis for Munksgard’s § 1001 sentence. The
court marked the nature and circumstances of the offense as sup-
porting an upward variance, noting that a downward variance in a
conviction for a related fraud offense did not adequately deter
Munksgard. The court also wrote that an upward variance was
supported by Munksgard’s expression of little remorse and his his-
tory of dishonesty. The court also marked multiple other § 3553(a)
factors as relevant to its decision to impose an upward variance,
including deterrence and protection of the public. Munksgard’s ap-
peal followed.
II. ANALYSIS
A. Munksgard’s § 1001 Conviction Does Not Violate the
Double Jeopardy Clause.
Although we usually review de novo double jeopardy claims,
we review double jeopardy claims that are not properly raised in
the district court for plain error. United States v. Bobb, 577 F.3d 1366,
1371 (11th Cir. 2009). Under plain-error review, the defendant has
the burden to show that the district court committed (1) an error
(2) that is plain which (3) that affected his substantial rights. Id. If
all three elements are met, we may exercise our discretion and re-
verse “if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public
reputation of judicial proceedings.” Id. When “the explicit lan-
guage of a statute or rule does not specifically resolve an issue,
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22-14244 Opinion of the Court 9
there can be no plain error where there is no precedent from the
Supreme Court or this Court directly resolving it.” United States v.
Curtin, 78 F.4th 1299, 1310 (11th Cir. 2023) (internal quotation
marks omitted) (quoting United States v. Lejarde-Rada, 319 F.3d 1288,
1291 (11th Cir. 2003)).
The Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be “sub-
ject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.”
U.S. Const. amend. V. The Double Jeopardy clause protects defend-
ants “against a second prosecution for the same offense after ac-
quittal, a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction,
and multiple punishments for the same offense.” Bobb, 577 F.3d at
1371. Importantly, when a defendant’s supervised release is re-
voked due to him having subsequently committed another crimi-
nal offense, that subsequent offense “does not constitute punish-
ment for that criminal offense for purposes of double jeopardy.”
United States v. Woods, 127 F.3d 990, 992 & n.1 (11th Cir. 1997) (ex-
amining a double jeopardy challenge in the context of a revocation
of probation while citing cases about revoking supervised release
because the two procedures are essentially the same). Instead, rev-
ocation of probation constitutes a modification of the terms of the
original sentence and implicates solely the punishment initially im-
posed for the offense conduct underlying that sentence.” Id.; see
also Johnson v. United States, 529 U.S. 694, 700 (2000) (“Treating
postrevocation sanctions as part of the penalty for the initial of-
fense . . . avoids [Double Jeopardy] difficulties.).
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On appeal, Munksgard argues, for the first time, that his
§ 1001 conviction violates double jeopardy principles. Because he
only now raises this argument and did not preserve the argument
before the district court, we review the issue for plain error. Bobb,
577 F.3d at 1371. Under such review, Munskgard’s argument fails
because this Court’s precedent clearly holds that a revocation sen-
tence does not implicate double jeopardy because such a sentence
is derivative of his original sentence. Woods, 127 F.3d at 992.
Munksgard attempts to distinguish his case from others by
noting that his revocation was based upon specific conditions of his
supervised release rather than on a standard “commit no crime”
condition. However, Munksgard did not identify any binding prec-
edent recognizing this distinction as relevant for double jeopardy
purposes. Because no clear case law or statute supports
Munksgard’s argument, his claim fails on plain error review. Cur-
tin, 78 F.4th at 1310.
B. Munksgard’s Sentence is Not Substantively Unreason-
able.
We review for an abuse of discretion the substantive reason-
ableness of a sentence. United States v. Green, 981 F.3d 945, 953 (11th
Cir. 2020). The party challenging a sentence bears the burden of
showing “that the sentence is unreasonable in light of the record
and the § 3553(a) factors.” United States v. Williams, 526 F.3d 1312,
1322 (11th Cir. 2008). A district court abuses its discretion and im-
poses a substantively unreasonable sentence when it (1) fails to con-
sider “relevant factors that were due significant weight, (2) gives
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22-14244 Opinion of the Court 11
significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or (3) com-
mits a clear error of judgment” by balancing the proper factors un-
reasonably. United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 1189 (11th Cir. 2010)
(en banc) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting United States
v. Campa, 459 F.3d 1121, 1174 (11th Cir. 2006) (en banc)).
Section 3553(a) mandates that the district court “shall im-
pose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary,” to “re-
flect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law,
and to provide just punishment for the offense;” “afford adequate
deterrence to criminal conduct; protect the public from further
crimes of the defendant;” and “provide the defendant with needed
educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correc-
tional treatment in the most effective manner.” 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a)(2)(A)-(D). In addition, the court must consider “the na-
ture and circumstances of the offense and the history and charac-
teristics of the defendant;” “the kinds of sentences available;” the
guideline sentencing range; any applicable policy statements; “the
need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defend-
ants with similar records who have been convicted of similar con-
duct;” and the need to provide restitution to offense victims. Id.§ 3553(a)(1), (3)-(7).
Our review of the substantive reasonableness of a sentence
involves “examining the totality of the circumstances” and whether
the § 3553(a) factors support the sentence. United States v. Gonzalez,
550 F.3d 1319, 1324 (11th Cir. 2008). We will only vacate a sentence
as unreasonable if “we are left with a definite and firm conviction
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that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in
weighing the § 3553(a) factors by arriving at a sentence that lies
outside the range of reasonable sentences dictated by the facts of
the case.” Irey, 612 F.3d at 1190 (internal quotation marks omitted)
(quoting United States v. Pugh, 515 F.3d 1179, 1191 (11th Cir. 2008)).
District courts have “discretion to decide how much weight
to give each § 3553(a) factor.” Williams, 526 F.3d at 1323. While
the district court is required to consider all § 3553(a) factors, it “is
permitted to attach ‘great weight’ to one factor over others.”
United States v. Shaw, 560 F.3d 1230, 1237 (11th Cir. 2009) (quoting
Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 57 (2007)). Moreover, district courts
are permitted to consider a wide array of information related to a
defendant’s background and character in imposing an upward var-
iance. United States v. Tome, 611 F.3d 1371, 1379 (11th Cir. 2010).
“[T]he district court, in imposing a variance, may consider conduct
that a probation officer already had considered in calculating the
defendant’s advisory guidelines range.” United States v. Moran, 778
F.3d 942, 983 (11th Cir. 2015). Further, “variances from the advi-
sory guidelines range can sometimes be based on the sentencing
judge’s disagreement with whether a guideline properly reflects the
§ 3553(a) factors.” United States v. Rosales-Bruno, 789 F.3d 1249, 1254
(11th Cir. 2015).
A sentence outside of the guideline range is not presumably
unreasonable, but we may consider the extent of a variance in our
review of the reasonableness of a sentence. Shaw, 560 F.3d at 1237.
A court selecting a sentence outside the guideline range must have
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22-14244 Opinion of the Court 13
a justification “sufficiently compelling to support the degree of the
variance.” Gall, 552 U.S. at 50. We give weight to a district court’s
decision to vary because the district court has substantial discretion
“in deciding whether the § 3553(a) factors justify a variance and the
extent of one that is appropriate.” Shaw, 560 F.3d at 1238. “A sen-
tence imposed well below the statutory maximum penalty is an in-
dicator of a reasonable sentence.” United States v. Stanley, 739 F.3d
633, 656 (11th Cir. 2014).
On appeal, Munksgard argues that his 18-month sentence
for his § 1001 conviction is substantively unreasonable because the
district court relied on improper factors, such as his history of dis-
honesty and fraud and his prior below-guidelines sentence, when
crafting the sentence.
The district court did not abuse its discretion and imposed a
substantively reasonable sentence for Munksgard’s § 1001 convic-
tion. The district court stated that it considered the § 3553(a) fac-
tors and found that an upward variance was reasonable in light of
Munksgard’s history of untruthfulness, the need for both specific
and general deterrence, and in the interest of protecting the public.
The court based its decision on the fact that the instant offense of
dishonesty followed a prior conviction for fraud and identity theft.
Moreover, the court appropriately considered of facts already ac-
counted for in the calculation of his guideline range. Moran, 778
F.3d at 983. Finally, the court appropriately crafted the sentence
based on its finding that the Guidelines did not adequately reflect
the seriousness of Munksgard’s conduct and his history of
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dishonesty. Rosales-Bruno, 789 F.3d at 1254. Thus, the district court
clearly considered proper factors in crafting Munksgard’s sentence
and provided sufficiently compelling support for imposing the up-
ward variance. Shaw, 560 F.3d at 1238. Further, the sentence is well
below the five-year statutory maximum, which supports the rea-
sonableness of his sentence. Stanley, 739 F.3d at 656. Thus, the
district court did not clearly err in reaching and imposing its sen-
tence. Irey, 612 F.3d at 1190.
III. CONCLUSION
For the reasons outlined above, we AFFIRM.