U. S. v. STOERR U.S. App. LEXIS 18204 (3rd Cir. 2012)
Defendant pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to bid rigging, kickback conspiracy, and tax fraud. Appellant, defendant's employer, sought restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, 18 U.S.C.S. § 3663A et seq. The district court instead ordered restitution to the Environmental Protection Agency and a company. The employer appealed; the government moved to dismiss the appeal.
Defendant's convictions stemmed from kickbacks he solicited from subcontractors in connection with projects managed by his employer. One of those projects was performed under a contract with the company, and the cost of the kickbacks was passed on to the company.
The employer, which compensated the company for its losses, argued that it was therefore entitled to restitution under 18 U.S.C.S. § 3664(j)(1).
The court of appeals held that the employer, as a non-party, lacked standing to appeal defendant's sentence. The presumptive rule that non-parties could not appeal a criminal sentence applied in the context of a non-party payer's appeal of a restitution order, which was part of the sentence. The MVRA did not contain an implicit right of appeal by non-parties. 18 U.S.C.S. § 3742 allowed appeals by the defendant and the government but did not purport to allow non-party appeals, and the MVRA's statutory scheme indicated that Congress intended for the government, rather than for payers and victims, to be primarily responsible for ensuring proper restitution payments. An exception allowing appeals by non-parties with pecuniary interests had been applied in civil, not criminal, cases.
The government's motion to dismiss the appeal was granted.
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