United States v. Mercier, No. 03 cr. 510 (S.D.N.Y.)
Scott B. Tulman (http://www.lawyers.com/tulmanlaw/) reports on a case of non-5K cooperation resulting in a non-Guidelines sentence.
Specifically, Mercier provided the Government with information relating to criminal conduct undertaken by associates of his in the securities industry and also provided the SEC with information that it used in connection with an enforcement proceeding. Mercier, however, opted not to enter into a cooperation agreement with the Government because (among other reasons) he did not want to enter a plea of guilty to the additional charges for which the Government sought a guilty plea in connection with a proposed plea and cooperation agreement. Thus, while Mercier plead guilty to certain charges, he did so without a cooperation agreement -- notwithstanding the substantial information that he had provided to the Government. At sentencing, Mercier faced an advisory Guidelines range of 33-41 months imprisonment. The court, however, imposed a sentence of a year-and-a-day based largely on Mercier's non-5K cooperation. As reported by Scott Tulman, the court found that Mercier has "been cooperative with the Government, has accepted responsibility for his bad acts, shown his ability to lead a lawful and productive life and given considerable assistance to the court-appointed receiver in the related" SEC action.
Nice work Scott!
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