US v. Datcu, No. 10-1770

Identity Theft Conviction Affirmed

In US v. Datcu, No. 10-1770, the court affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence for conspiring to possess device making equipment and aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft, where 1) there was probable cause to believe contraband would be found in defendant's SUV at the time the officers searched it; and 2) the district court did not commit procedural error in imposing a four level sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. section 2B1.1(b)(2)(B).

As the court wrote:  "Ion Datcu and another man were arrested after police investigated a concerned citizen's tip that two men were engaging in suspicious activity by two banks in Maplewood, Minnesota. A search of the two men, their rental vehicle, and their hotel room revealed numerous tools associated with fraud and identity theft. Datcu pled guilty to conspiring to possess device making equipment and aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft while reserving the right to raise Fourth Amendment challenges to the evidence gathered by the police."

Related Resources

• Read the Eighth Circuit's Decision in US v. Datcu, No. 10-1770