Southern District of New York (SDNY) – Client who pled guilty to Hobbs Act Robbery Receives Sentence Well-Below the Guidelines
The client, represented by Steven Brill, was indicted for being a member of a Narcotics and Hobbs Act Robbery Conspiracy. He was charged with passing a tip along to others with the intention of committing a robbery of a drug dealer who was visiting New York. After almost a year of negotiations, Steven Brill, worked out a plea agreement with the US Attorney's Office that his client plead guilty to the Hobbs Act Robbery conspiracy, and not the narcotics conspiracy. This saved the client exposure to a 10-year mandatory minimum. However, in its sentencing investigation, the Department of Probation found that the client was a “Career Offender” under the Sentencing Guidelines, which exposed the client to a guideline range of 150-181 months. However, following a sentencing hearing, where Steven Brill presented various arguments mitigating the client's conduct, the Court sentenced the client to 87 months – which was just about half of what his guideline range advised.