District court did not abuse discretion in calculating restitution amount for sales of fraudulently repaired aircraft engines

RESTITUTION/EVIDENCE United States v. Parker, No. 07-6239, ___ F.3d ___ (10th Cir. Jan. 9, 2009)(W.D. Oklahoma). Appeal of convictions and sentence for conspiracy to commit fraud involving aircraft parts, making false statements involving aircraft parts, and mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 38(a)(3), 18 U.S.C. § 38(a)(1)(C), and 18 U.S.C. § 1341. HELD: (1) District court did not abuse its discretion in calculating restitution award amount under Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA) at 18 U.SC. § 3664. Under MVRA, restitution must be for actual loss, and any amount greater than actual loss constitutes abuse of discretion. Here, district court properly concluded that fraudulently repaired aircraft engines sold by defendant did not retain substantial core-value, but were essentially worthless. Therefore, restitution amount reflected actual loss to victims and district court’s method for determining restitution amount satisfied MVRA requirement of obtaining reasonable determination of appropriate restitution by resolving uncertainties with view toward achieving fairness to victims. (2) District court did not abuse its discretion by allowing limited questioning by government on cross-examination of defendant’s character witnesses where questions consisted of hypothetical questions such as "would you change your opinion of the defendant if you found out he had been selling unairworthy aircraft engines?" Prosecution may ask hypothetical questions of "have you heard" variety when character witness testifies about personal opinion of defendant’s character as opposed to offering testimony limited to defendant’s general reputation in community. Read the opinion here.