Foreclosure price of fraudulently financed property may be used to determine victim’s loss for restitution purposes

RESTITUTION United States v. James, No. 08-1292, ___ F.3d ___ (May 5, 2009)(Colorado) Appeal of restitution order entered in conjunction with conviction for wire fraud and aiding and abetting in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 1343. HELD: Under Mandatory Victim Restitution Act at 18 U.S.C. § 3663(A), methods other than fair market price may be used to calculate property value for determining amount of restitution (e.g., foreclosure price or replacement price). In this instance, foreclosure price most closely reflected actual loss to victim. Therefore, district court’s use of foreclosure price to determine victim’s loss was neither error, nor unreasonable. Read the opinion here.