United States v. Pacheco-Martinez, 791 F.3d 171

Pacheco- Martinez formed IBGANV (Nevada), IBGA (Puerto Rico), and LDPR, using them to run two fraud schemes and shield assets from creditors.
Liberty Dollars and Boricua Dollars were marketed as inflation-proof investments with purported high returns; funds flowed through the entities and into personal use.
Debt Elimination program charged upfront fees but did not relieve debts; some 225 investors lost over $750,000 of more than $1 million invested.
During this period, Pacheco filed three bankruptcy petitions (Sept 2003, June 2004, Oct 2005); the first two were dismissed without discharge, the third resulted in discharge with nondisclosures.
Post-bankruptcy, funds from IBGA were used to buy a condominium and to create additional accounts in other names; funds were not disclosed to the trustee or creditors.
Pacheco was convicted by jury on multiple counts including securities and mail fraud, conspiracy, concealment, fraudulent transfers, coin uttering, and money laundering; he received a top-of-guidelines sentence of 235 months with two-level enhancements for abuse of trust and sophisticated means.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Is Count 8 supported by sufficient evidence of fraudulent transfer?	Pacheco used IBGA funds to buy property, which constitutes his own transfer/concealment under § 152(7).	The transfer involved IBGA's property, not Pacheco's personal property; indictment theory variance, prejudice?	Conviction upheld; the funds were Pacheco’s or his control, and variance not prejudicial.
Whether abuse of a position of trust enhancement was proper	No special trust relationship with investors; enhancement unjustified.	There was a trusted relationship with at least some victims; enhancement proper.	Upheld; preexisting relationships and abuse of trust supported the enhancement.
Whether sophisticated means enhancement was proper	Not necessary to show specific listed acts; overall concealment supports.	Evidence insufficient for sophisticated means.	Upheld; multiple entities, concealment, and English/Spanish contract misalignment show sophisticated means.
Whether the sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable	Court failed to consider mitigating factors like age and conduct post-coin scheme.	Court properly weighed factors, did consider age and history, and imposed a reasonable sentence.	Sentence affirmed; court’s balancing and reasoning were within standard of review.

United States v. Ledée, 772 F.3d 21 (1st Cir. 2014) (funds can be property for purposes of transfer/concealment even if nominally held by a third party)
United States v. Yelaun, 541 F.3d 415 (1st Cir. 2008) (variance between indictment and proof requires prejudice to reverse)
United States v. Jolly, 102 F.3d 46 (2d Cir. 1996) (preexisting relationship with investors affects position-of-trust analysis)
United States v. Mullens, 65 F.3d 1560 (11th Cir. 1995) (preexisting personal attachments influence trust considerations)
United States v. Sicher, 576 F.3d 64 (1st Cir. 2009) (guidelines application on abuse of trust and related factors)