A district court judge’s statements during a plea colloquy served to expand the appellate rights of the defendant beyond what was contained in the plea agreement, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, remanding for resentencing the case of an Internet company owner convicted in a $74 million fraud scheme.
Neal Saferstein, who pled guilty to mail and wire fraud and submitting false tax returns related to his Philadelphia-based company GoInternet, was sentenced in 2010 by U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to 23 years in prison. And because his crimes were committed over a period of time in which two different federal sentencing guidelines were in place, Saferstein has now won a chance to be resentenced under the lower guideline range.
