Case 4:19-cr-00199-RP-HCA Document 28 Filed 08/20/20 Page 1 of 6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
IN AND FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
vs.
SCOTT DONALD GRIFFEN,
Defendants.

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CASE NO. 4:19-CR-199
DEFENDANT’S SENTENCING
MEMORANDUM

Defendant Scott Donald Griffen respectfully submits this memorandum regarding his
sentencing set to take place on August 25, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
INTRODUCTION
This is a relatively straight forward sentencing where the parties agree to the applicable
sentencing guidelines range. This is not a mandatory minimum case. At issue in the sentencing
will be whether, and to what degree, a variance is warranted.
Scott Donald Griffen is 57 years old and is a long-time resident of Ames, Iowa. After
two failed marriages, he is single. His adult daughter recently moved in with him. Mr. Griffen
lost his mother to breast cancer when he was only eight years old. Since his mother was sick
when he was a child, he had to assume many responsibilities around the house. After his mother
passed away, Mr. Griffen struggled with her loss. He was raised by his father who was
physically and mentally/verbally abusive throughout his childhood. The abuse that Mr. Griffen
suffered at the hands of his father only escalated after the passing of his mother.
When Mr. Griffen was in fourth grade, he was diagnosed with dyslexia which caused him
significant learning difficulties throughout school. His father was severely abusive toward him
for not doing well in school. Mr. Griffen received his high school diploma in 1981 but did not

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complete his undergraduate studies or complete vocational training. Instead, he began working
for his father’s Ames businesses and was self-employed until the instant offense and the Story
County offense to which he pled guilty.
Mr. Griffen has the support of his family and friends. Throughout this criminal
proceeding, Mr. Griffen has maintained an especially great relationship with his 25-year-old
daughter, Zoey. She is both emotionally and financially supportive of him, just as he was to her
when he raised her as a single father after his divorce from her mother.
Mr. Griffen acknowledges his tax crimes and is anxious to turn his life around. He would
like to work to earn the funds necessary to pay toward his restitution. Mr. Griffen has cooperated
with the government since the beginning of his criminal case by, for example, pleading to an
information instead of a grand jury indictment.
Through the consideration of a below-guideline sentence based upon the factors
contained in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), Mr. Griffen will ask the Court for a sentence of home
detention. He appreciates the Court’s willingness to carefully consider his case.
ARGUMENT
I.

The Sentencing Guidelines are not in Dispute.
The parties agree that Mr. Griffen’s applicable guideline range is 12-18 months, based

upon a total offense level of 13 and a criminal history category of I.
II.

A Downward Variance is Warranted Under the Factors Enumerated in 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a).
After considering the sentencing guidelines, the Court’s final step in sentencing is to

determine, under the factors enumerated in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), what sentence is “sufficient, but
not greater than necessary” to comply with the purposes of sentencing. In determining the

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minimally-sufficient sentence, the Court must consider the nature and circumstances of the
offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1).
In addition, the Court must consider the need for the sentence imposed to reflect the
seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the
offense; to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct; to protect the public from further
crimes of the defendant; and to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational
training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most effective manner. 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a)(2).
Finally, the Court must consider the kinds of sentences available and the applicable
category of offenses and category of defendant as set forth in the guidelines and its policy
statements, as well as the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants
who have been found guilty of similar conduct. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(3)-(6). Several of the
§ 3553(a) factors warrant a sentence that is less than that produced by the Guidelines.
A.

The nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and
characteristics of the defendant.

There is no doubt that Mr. Griffen committed a serious tax crime with serious penalties.
He accepts responsibility for his failure to pay over employees’ tax withholdings to the Internal
Revenue Service.
Mr. Griffen has next to no criminal history other than this tax crime and the Story County
tax crime to which he pled guilty earlier this summer. In 2012, Mr. Griffen pled guilty to Public
Intoxication, a simple misdemeanor.
Mr. Griffen survived a sad and abusive childhood. He has significant learning difficulties,
yet he managed to graduate high school. In addition to the physical abuse he suffered at the hand
of his father, Mr. Griffen’s father repeatedly called him names like “dumb” and “stupid” because

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of his learning disability. Mr. Griffen admittedly has trouble with organization because of his
dyslexia. Despite these challenges, Mr. Griffen has maintained a strong work ethic throughout
his adult life. He maintains a great relationship with his adult child, Zoey, who recently moved
back to Ames to live with him after living out of state.
Moreover, Mr. Griffen has cooperated with the government since the beginning of this
criminal case. He immediately acknowledged his wrongdoing through counsel and promptly
worked to be accountable for his actions, pleading to an information instead of a grand jury
indictment. He has accepted responsibility for his crime, and he is anxious to turn his life
around.
B.

The need to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct and to protect
the public from further crimes of the Defendant.

At age 57, Mr. Griffen is statistically no longer a likely recidivist. Defendants “over the
age of forty … exhibit markedly lower rates of recidivism in comparison to younger defendants.”
Measuring Recidivism: The Criminal History Computation Of The Federal Sentencing
Guidelines, at 12, 28 (2004) www.ussc.gov/publicat/Recidivism_General.pdf (“Recidivism rates
decline relatively consistently as age increases”); See also U.S. v. Marquez, 2007 WL 4275499
(10th Cir. 2007); U.S. v. Carter, 538 F.3d 784 (7th Cir. 2008).
As a practical matter, Mr. Griffen is not a likely recidivist either. Mr. Griffen was
previously a self-employed business owner of DG’s Tap House and Corner Pocket in Ames.
These businesses have been closed following complications resulting from the instant offense
and the Story County sales tax offense. The loss of his ability to be self-employed hit Mr. Griffen
especially hard because it was the only form of employment he has known since 1989.
Mr. Griffen is not at risk again for operating a business and failing to pay over
employment taxes because he must obtain prior written approval from the U.S. Probation Office

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before he can begin any form of self-employment. Fortunately, Mr. Griffen’s daughter has been
supporting him lately. Between the fact that he is now a felon and the loss of his businesses,
Mr. Griffen has learned his lesson. He is eager to turn his life around and wants nothing more
than a quiet life working in carpentry, exercising, and spending time with his daughter.
C.

The need to provide just punishment for the offense and to provide the
defendant with needed correctional treatment in the most effective
manner.

Given Mr. Griffen’s relative dearth of criminal history, even a sentence at the bottom of
the advisory guidelines range “may work to promote not respect, but derision of the laws,” for
the law cannot be viewed “as merely a means to dispense harsh punishment without taking into
account the real conduct and circumstances involved in sentencing.” Gall v. United States, 552
U.S. 38, 54 (2007).
A sentence of house arrest is “sufficient, but not greater than necessary” to reflect the
seriousness of Mr. Griffen’s crime, while at the same time taking into account his extremely low
likelihood of recidivism and the part that his learning disability likely played in his crime.

Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Holly M. Logan
Holly M. Logan, AT0004710
DAVIS, BROWN, KOEHN, SHORS &
ROBERTS, P.C.
The Davis Brown Tower
215 10th Street, Suite 1300
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
Telephone: 515-246-7875
Facsimile: 515-243-0654
Email: HollyLogan@davisbrownlaw.com
ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANT

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Copy to:
Virginia M. Bruner
Ryan W. Leemkuil
Assistant United States Attorney
United States Courthouse Annex
110 East Court Avenue, Suite 286
Des Moines, Iowa 50309-2053
Tel: (515) 473-9300
Fax: (515) 473-9292
Email: ryan.leemkuil@usdoj.gov;
virginia.bruner@usdoj.gov

PROOF OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that the foregoing instrument was
served upon each of the attorneys of record of all parties to the
above-entitled cause herein at their respective addresses
disclosed on the pleadings on August 20, 2020 by:
__ U.S. Mail
__ Hand Delivered
__ Federal Express
Signature: /s/ Holly M. Logan

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF

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__ FAX
__ Overnight Courier
X Other: CM/ECF