United States v. Crystal Moore, 733 F.3d 161

Moore pled guilty to a conspiracy involving theft of USPS mail from six collection boxes.
The PSR used a 6-level enhancement by presuming 50 victims per box, totaling 300 victims.
Moore objected, arguing the Note does not authorize multiplying the 50-victim presumption by the number of boxes.
The district court sentenced Moore based on the PSR’s 6-level enhancement within the 250+ victims range.
The Fifth Circuit granted de novo review to interpret Application Note 4(C)(ii)(I) of § 2B1.1.
The court vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing consistent with its interpretation that the presumption is at least 50, not per box.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Interpretation of Note 4(C)(ii)(I)	Moore argues the Note does not allow per-box multiplication of 50 victims.	Government asserts each box triggers at least 50 victims, creating a multiplier effect.	Note does not authorize per-box multiplication; presumption is at least 50 victims total.
Number of victims when multiple USPS receptacles are involved	Only 50 victims are presumed, regardless of number of boxes absent proof of more.	Additional boxes elevate the presumptive number of victims.	Presumption capped at 50 unless proven otherwise.
Relation to cluster-box rule	Cluster-box rule (II) already ties victims to the actual number of mailboxes.	Cluster-box rule supports a different treatment; collection boxes should not be inflated.	Not inconsistent: Note I fixes 50 per case; cluster-box II uses actual mailbox count.

United States v. Serfass, 684 F.3d 548 (5th Cir. 2012) (language unambiguous governs; avoid absurd results)
United States v. Diaz-Corado, 648 F.3d 290 (5th Cir. 2011) (quoting Stinson principles on authoritative guidelines)
Stinson v. United States, 508 U.S. 36 (U.S. 1993) (interpretation of sentencing guidelines; rules of deference)
Teuschler, 689 F.3d 397 (5th Cir. 2012) (government bears burden to prove facts supporting enhancements)