State v. Atchison, 2018 Ohio 2419

Defendant Robin Atchison admitted she participated in an internet-based scheme that produced and mailed counterfeit cashier’s checks used in a "secret shopper" fraud across the U.S.
She scanned legitimate cashier’s checks, received templates from a contact (“Gary”), printed forged checks on watermark stock, and mailed ~90 checks/day several days a week in 2014.
The scheme resulted in 444 counterfeit checks presented nationwide totaling $1,030,735.14; Heartland Federal Credit Union suffered local losses of $21,972 from cleared counterfeit checks.
Atchison received about $10,349.99 via Western Union and admitted she knew the conduct was "probably illegal;" she also claimed threats from "Gary."
She pled guilty to one count of forgery (fourth-degree felony); after a PSI the trial court sentenced her to 15 months’ imprisonment and ordered $28,810.33 restitution.
On appeal Atchison argued the court failed to follow statutory sentencing procedures and that the sentence was excessive and an unnecessary burden on government resources.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court failed to follow statutory sentencing procedures (R.C. 2929.11/2929.12)	State: Court complied by considering record, statements, and purposes/principles of sentencing as noted in the judgment entry	Atchison: Court did not expressly state what it considered at sentencing nor explicitly recite R.C. 2929.11/2929.12	Court: Entry shows consideration; on a silent record courts are presumed to have considered statutory factors—no reversible error
Whether the 15-month prison sentence was excessive or an unnecessary burden on government resources	State: Sentence within statutory range and justified because offense was part of organized criminal activity causing substantial loss	Atchison: Sentence excessive; community control should have been imposed; prison imposes unnecessary governmental burden	Court: 15 months within permissible 6–18 months for fourth-degree felony and justified because offense was "for hire"/organized activity; sentence not contrary to law

State v. Marcum, 59 N.E.3d 1231 (Ohio 2016) (sets appellate standard of review under R.C. 2953.08 for felony sentences)
State v. King, 992 N.E.2d 491 (Ohio 2013) (trial court has discretion to impose any sentence within statutory range and need not state reasons for maximum or more-than-minimum sentences)
State v. Mathis, 846 N.E.2d 1 (Ohio 2006) (trial courts must consider statutory sentencing principles and factors in R.C. 2929.11/2929.12)
State v. Leopard, 957 N.E.2d 55 (Ohio 2011) (trial courts must be guided by R.C. 2929.11 when imposing felony sentences)