United States v. Bikundi, Criminal No. 2014-0030

Florence Bikundi was convicted in 2014 of leading a large Medicaid fraud scheme and related money‑laundering offenses; jury convicted on conspiracy and multiple substantive counts.
In June 2016 she was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment (plus 36 months supervised release), with about $80.6 million restitution and $39.99 million forfeiture; the court imposed a 13‑level downward departure from the Guidelines range (360 months–life).
Bikundi is a Cameroonian national who received withholding of removal in 2005 and is incarcerated at FCI Hazelton; with good time credit her projected release date (per BOP) is August 28, 2022.
On Oct. 14, 2021 Bikundi submitted an administrative request to BOP seeking First Step Act (PATTERN) earned time credits; the acting warden denied eligibility, citing deportability; she appealed administratively and, after waiting >30 days, filed a pro se motion for sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
Bikundi sought relief on three grounds: (1) sentence severity caused by non‑citizen status; (2) COVID‑19 (Omicron) risk given obesity; and (3) BOP’s failure to award First Step Act earned time credits under 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4). The government opposed and the court denied the motion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether "inappropriate severity" of sentence due to non‑citizen status constitutes extraordinary and compelling reason for compassionate release	Bikundi: Alienage made her confinement unduly severe; warrants release	Gov.: Not administratively exhausted; court already considered alienage at sentencing and gave large downward departure	Denied for failure to exhaust; on the merits court had considered and rejected additional reduction for alienage
Whether COVID‑19 (Omicron) risk from obesity justifies compassionate release	Bikundi: Obesity increases COVID risk and supports release/home confinement	Gov.: Not administratively exhausted; general COVID fear insufficient—she is fully vaccinated and obesity alone does not qualify	Denied for failure to exhaust; even if exhausted, COVID risk (vaccination, obesity alone) is not extraordinary and compelling
Whether BOP’s refusal to award First Step Act earned time credits can be remedied in § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion	Bikundi: BOP wrongly refused to calculate/apply earned credits under § 3632(d)(4)	Gov.: Claim must be pursued via habeas because success would shorten confinement; merits fail because withholding of removal is a final order of removal making her ineligible under § 3632(d)(4)(E)(i)	Denied: claim is cognizable only in habeas; alternatively, she is ineligible for earned credits because withholding of removal constitutes a final removal order

Freeman v. United States, 564 U.S. 522 (U.S. 2011) (§ 3582(c) limits courts’ power to modify sentences; exceptions described)
United States v. Long, 997 F.3d 342 (D.C. Cir. 2021) (First Step Act permits defendants to file compassionate‑release motions directly in court)
Davis v. U.S. Sent’g Comm’n, 716 F.3d 660 (D.C. Cir. 2013) (claims that would necessarily imply invalidity of confinement must be brought via habeas)
Thamotar v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 1 F.4th 958 (11th Cir. 2021) (grant of withholding of removal constitutes a final order of removal for certain statutory purposes)
United States v. Smith, 27 F.3d 649 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (consideration of alienage for downward departure/variance)
United States v. Bikundi, 926 F.3d 761 (D.C. Cir. 2019) (prior appellate opinion concerning Bikundi’s conviction and related issues)