United States of America v. Velma Taper

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 25-3376
___________________________
United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Velma Taper
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri - Cape Girardeau
____________
Submitted: April 3, 2026
Filed: April 8, 2026
[Unpublished]
____________
Before SMITH, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
____________
PER CURIAM.
Velma Taper appeals the sentence imposed by the district court1 after she pled
guilty to fraud offenses. Her counsel has moved for leave to withdraw and has filed
1The Honorable Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Missouri.

-- 1 of 2 --

a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), challenging the substantive
reasonableness of the sentence.
After careful review, we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion
in sentencing Taper. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461 (8th Cir.
2009) (en banc) (standard of review); see also United States v. Miner, 544 F.3d 930,
932 (8th Cir. 2008) (presuming sentence within United States Sentencing Guidelines
Manual range is reasonable). Further, having independently reviewed the record
under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we find no non-frivolous issues for appeal.
Accordingly, we grant counsel leave to withdraw and affirm.
______________________________
-2-

-- 2 of 2 --