United States v. Sypniewiski

* 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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
October 24, 2006
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-11262
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
DEBORAH LEE SYPNIEWISKI,
Defendant-Appellant.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 3:05-CR-28-1
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Before JOLLY, DeMOSS, and STEWART, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Deborah Lee Sypniewiski was convicted by a jury of
counterfeiting obligations of the United States and possessing
counterfeit obligations. Sypniewiski argues that the district
court erred in enhancing her sentence based on her manufacture of
counterfeit federal reserve notes pursuant to U.S.S.G.
§ 2B5.1(b)(2)(A) and (b)(3) (2004). Sypniewiski argues that the
enhancement was inapplicable under application note 4, which
states that the enhancement does not apply where the items
manufactured “are so obviously counterfeit that they are unlikely

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No. 05-11262
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to be accepted even if subjected to only minimal scrutiny.”
§ 2B5.1, comment. (n.4).
Based on the personal inspection of the notes by the
district court judge, the evidence regarding the number of times
the bills were successfully and unsuccessfully passed, and the
testimony of various witnesses including a Secret Service agent,
the district court found that the counterfeit notes were not so
obviously counterfeit that they were unlikely to be accepted even
if subjected to only minimal scrutiny. The district court’s
finding was plausible in light of the record as a whole and thus
was not clearly erroneous. United States v. Wyjack, 141 F.3d
181, 183-84 (5th Cir. 1998); United States v. Bollman, 141 F.3d
184, 187 (5th Cir. 1998).
AFFIRMED.

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