United States v. Latashia Green, 670 F. App'x 695

Latashia Green pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds under 18 U.S.C. §§ 641 and 2.
The only issue on appeal was the amount of restitution ordered by the district court.
The government presented testimony from a HUD employee establishing the amounts paid to Green based on false benefit applications and that those payments would not have been made absent her misrepresentations.
Green sought an offset to restitution for government benefits she claimed she would have received but for the illegal conduct, but she presented no evidence to support an offset.
The district court set restitution at $85,363, reflecting the uncontested amounts paid to Green during the months charged in the indictment.
The Eleventh Circuit reviewed the restitution determination and affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Green was entitled to an offset against restitution for benefits she would have received absent her fraud	Green argued she should receive an offset for government benefits she would have obtained lawfully	Government argued restitution should equal the actual payments made due to Green’s fraud; burden on defendant to prove any offset	Court held Green was not entitled to an offset because she offered no evidence; restitution affirmed at the uncontested amount paid ($85,363)

United States v. Valladares, 544 F.3d 1257 (11th Cir. 2008) (standard of review for restitution and burden of proof)
United States v. Huff, 609 F.3d 1240 (11th Cir. 2010) (restitution must reflect losses caused by defendant; offsets required for value received)
United States v. Rothenberg, 610 F.3d 621 (11th Cir. 2010) (clear-error standard for factual findings)
United States v. Bane, 720 F.3d 818 (11th Cir. 2013) (defendant must present evidence to support entitlement to an offset)