US Government may appeal reduction of Carroll’s sentence

The United States Govern-ment is reviewing the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit which vacated the 262 month-sentence imposed on convicted visa fraudster Thomas Carroll.

It made no order with respect to the US$2.5M Carroll, a former US diplomat here, has forfeited for his part in a local visa scam.

The Court called the sentence “draconian” in view of the fact that his co-conspirator, Guyanese businessman Haleem Khan was sentenced to just thirty-eight months, which included the time he had been incarcerated since his arrest in March 2000. He also forfeited assets in excess of US$250,000 including his assets in Guyana.

An official of the US District Attorney’s office in Chicago, Illinois told Stabroek News, “The government is reviewing the decision and we are considering our options which could include asking the appeals court to reconsider its decision or seeking an appeal of our own.”

The Appeal Court earlier this year ordered that Carroll’s sentence be reversed and vacated and remanded the case to the lower court for sentencing in a manner consistent with its calculation of the offence level based on the sentencing guidelines. Based on its assessment, Carroll could be sentenced to between 70-87 months.

The Appeal Court assessed the offence level as 27; the lower court had assessed it at 39.

The US District Court for Northern Illinois imposed the sentence on Carroll who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the US government, production and issuance of false US visa documents and bribery of a public official.

In assessing Carroll’s offence level, the District Court found that he did not accept responsibility for his actions and obstructed justice.