United States v. Justin Lee Howard

KELLY, Circuit Judge.

Justin Lee Howard appeals the sentence imposed by the district court 1 after he pled guilty to one count of extortion in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(d). We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3742 and 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Because we find no error in the application of the sentencing guidelines, we affirm Howard’s term of imprisonment. Because we believe restitution was ordered in error, we reverse the restitution award.

I. Background

In June 2011, Howard connected with the victim of his extortion, D.D., through “LifeOut.com,” a gay social networking website. D.D. is not…