DENVER, CO – The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court’s decision to impose alcohol-related conditions on a man convicted of wire fraud tied to COVID-19 economic relief.
In United States v. Lindsay, No. 24-6168, Adonijah Lindsay appealed a special condition of his supervised release that requires him to abstain from alcohol and avoid establishments where alcohol is the main business. Lindsay was sentenced to 36 months in prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud related to a fraudulent $74,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application submitted while he was still incarcerated.
Lindsay did not object to the alcohol restrictions at sentencing. The Tenth Circuit reviewed the case for plain error and concluded that, while the district court did not explicitly state its reasons for the alcohol-related condition, the record supported it.
The court cited Lindsay’s long history of alcohol and marijuana use, his failure to comply with a prior alcohol abstinence condition during an earlier supervised release term, and his continued substance use leading up to his arrest for fraud. The panel found that these facts provided a sufficient basis to uphold the special condition under the applicable sentencing guidelines and 18 U.S.C. § 3553 factors.
The judgment was affirmed by Circuit Judge Paul J. Kelly, Jr., writing for the panel, which also included Judges McHugh and Federico.
