United States v. Vic Henson, 468 F. App'x 229

Henson and Snead were named with nine co-defendants in a 30-count indictment.
Henson pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud and conspiracy to bribe a bank.
Snead pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.
District court sentenced Henson to 27 months and Snead to 51 months.
Appeals were brought via consolidated Anders briefs alleging two issues but no pro se briefs were filed.
The panel affirmed the district court and denied relief on both issues.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the government’s refusal to move for a § 5K1.1 reduction constitutes prosecutorial misconduct	Henson contends government misconduct due to failure to seek downward departure	Henson relies on plea terms and discretion; no impropriety shown	No prosecutorial misconduct; plea gave government discretion and Henson admitted no warranting assistance
Whether Snead’s abuse of trust warranted a § 3B1.3 enhancement	Snead abused a position of trust as a banking mortgage consultant	Position treated as legitimate for offense level adjustment	Yes; 3B1.3 enhancement applied to Snead

United States v. Scheetz, 293 F.3d 175 (4th Cir. 2002) (prosecutorial discretion and lack of misconduct findings)
Wade v. United States, 504 U.S. 181 (1992) (government discretion in § 5K1.1 context; standards for remedy)
United States v. Butler, 272 F.3d 683 (4th Cir. 2001) (government motive/reasonableness in granting departures)
United States v. Caplinger, 339 F.3d 226 (4th Cir. 2003) (review for clear error on trust-related enhancement)
United States v. Brack, 651 F.3d 388 (4th Cir. 2011) (central purpose of trust-position enhancement)