UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KOFI OHENE AGYEKUM
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Niemeyer, Jan. 24, 2017,
Money Structuring– Sentencing- Defendant could receive enhanced sentence for abuse of trust where he was managing a pharmacy illegally distributing CDS

(Dissent in part- Wynn- No abuse of position of trust as neither the Board of Pharmacy nor the distributor specially entrusted him)

Facts:
Agyekum and his wife ran a pharmacy in West Virginia when they came under suspicion for illegally selling Oxycodone. In addition to being one of the largest oxy distributors in the area, Agyekum was structuring cash deposits into a variety of bank accounts in the area in order to avoid the $10,000 reporting requirement. Agyekum made structured deposits of over $450,000.
A search warrant executed at the pharmacy resulted in recovery of “$38,000 cash that was lying on top of 51,000 oxycodone pills in the pharmacy’s safe.” Over $2 million was seized from the 20 bank accounts used by Agyekum.

After Agyekum pled guilty, his sentence range was increased for “abuse of a position of trust” and for his “leadership role” in the action.

Position of Trust- Defendant’s sentence could be enhanced for abuse of a position of trust where he held positions of trust with the Board of Pharmacy as well as the distributor who sold him the oxycodone assuming it was for a legitimate purpose.

Leadership- Because the defendant directed aspects of running the pharmacy and handled the cash he required be the only method of payment, he could be given an enhanced sentence for his leadership role in the illegal drug distribution