Case 1:19-cr-00789-PGG Document 938 Filed 02/09/23 Page 1of8
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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`UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
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`-against-
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`NATHANIEL COLES,
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`Defendant.
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`PAUL G. GARDEPHE,U.S.D.J.:
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`ORDER
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`19 Cr. 789 (PGG)
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`On February 7, 2023, the Governmentfiled a motion for compassionate release as
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`to Defendant Nathaniel Coles pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)@). (Mot. (Dkt. No. 937))
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`For the reasonsstated below, the motion will be granted.
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`BACKGROUND
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`I.
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`CHARGES, PLEA, AND SENTENCE
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`On November6, 2019, Coles was charged with conspiracy to violate the Travel
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`Actin violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 1952; wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable
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`healthcare information in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1320d-6(a)(1)-3, (b)(3) and 18 U.S.C. § 2;
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`and payments of bribes and gratuities to an agent of a federally funded organizationin violation
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`of 18 U.S.C. §§ 666(a)(2) and 2. The Governmentalleged that Coles committed these offenses
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`in connection with his participation in a bribery and kickback scheme involving a ring of
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`conspirators who procured information regarding motor vehicle accident victims and then
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`steered those victims to corrupt medical clinics and law firms in exchange for kickbacks.
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`(Indictment (Dkt. No. 1))
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`Coles “was a manageror supervisorof [this] criminal activity.” (Dec. 9, 2021
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`Sent. Tr. (Dkt. No. 661) at 22) He “wasactive in the schemefor approximately 11 years and
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`wasoneofits principal beneficiaries. He recruited and then paid monthly bribes of thousands of
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`dollars to corrupt hospital employees who provided him with the names and contact information
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`of hundreds of motor vehicle accident victims each month.” (Id.) After receiving this
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`information, “Coles then arranged for Codefendant Anthony Rose and other coconspirators to
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`contact the victim and steer them to certain medical clinics and law firms who would pay
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`kickbacks of $1,500 or $2,000 per referral to Coles.” (Id.) Coles also received payments from
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`several of the medical clinics to which he referred car crash victims. “Over the years, Mr. Coles
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`realized millions from his illegal schemes.” (Id. at 22-23)
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`On June 28, 2021, Coles pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Travel Act.
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`(June 28, 2021 Tr. (Dkt. No. 620))
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`At the December 9, 2021 sentencing, this Court noted that while Coles — then 68
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`— suffered from diabetes, he was otherwise in good health. (Dec. 9, 2021 Tr. (Dkt. No. 661) at
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`24; see also PSR (Dkt. No. 520) 4 145 (“[Coles] otherwise reported to be in overall good
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`physical health and has never been hospitalized.”)) This Court went on to sentence Coles to five
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`years’ imprisonment andthree years’ supervised release. (Dec. 9, 2021 Tr. (Dkt. No. 661) at 25)
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`Coles was ordered to surrender to Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) custody on
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`February 9, 2022. (Jan. 7, 2022 Order (Dkt. No. 677)) He has thus served approximately one
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`year ofhis five-year sentence.
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`II.
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`MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE
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`In a February 7, 2023 motion, the Government asks this Court to grant Coles
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`compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)q). (Mot. (Dkt. No. 937)) The
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`Government explainsthat “[o]n January 9, 2023, the BOP contacted [the Government] to request
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`consideration for a reduction of sentence to time served for Nathaniel Coles, based on his
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`terminal medical condition”:
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`BOPreports that Coles’ health significantly deteriorated over the past few
`months. Coles, who will turn 70 next week, was sent to the hospital on November
`9, 2022, due to complaints of shortness of breath, cough, andbilateral leg
`swelling. He has remained hospitalized since that time. Coles wasinitially noted
`to be in acute renal failure with indications of congestive heart failure. Coles was
`then diagnosed with Amyloid Cardiomyopathy, and began chemotherapy on
`December 20, 2022. On December 31, 2022, Coles went into cardiac arrest and
`recovered after six minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was also
`intubated, but was able to be extubated on January 1, 2023. Coles recently
`underwent a procedure on January 18, 2023, for placement of an automatic
`implantable cardioverter defibrillator. BOP further reported to [the Government]
`that according to treatment providers, Coles’ prognosis is extremely poor, with a
`life expectancy offive to six months and a 100 percent mortality rate within one
`year. Because he is considered terminally ill with a poor prognosis,a life
`expectancy of less than 18 months, and an end-of-life trajectory, BOP has
`determined that Coles meets BOP’s medical criteria for consideration for a
`reduction in sentence. BOP Director Colette Peters has approved this requestfor
`a reduction in sentence to time served, as has [the Government]. If Coles is
`released, he plansto live with his daughter, Latisha Coles, at her home in Charlotte,
`North Carolina, where he expects to receive end-of-life care. This release plan has
`been approved by the United States Probation Office for the Western District of
`North Carolina.
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`(Id. at 2-3 (formatting altered))
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`The Government contendsthat “Coles’ terminal medical condition constitutes
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`[an] ‘extraordinary and compelling reason[]’ warranting the requested reduction in sentence [to
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`time served].” The Governmentfurther contends that, after Coles’ release from prison, “he
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`should begin immediately serving the three-year term of supervised release previously imposed
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`by the Court.” (Id. at 3)
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`I.
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`LEGAL STANDARD
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`DISCUSSION
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`The compassionate release statute — 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) — provides that a
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`court may
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`upon motion ofthe Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or upon motion of the
`defendant .. . reduce the term of imprisonment (and may impose a term of
`probation or supervised release with or without conditions that does not exceed
`the unserved portion ofthe original term of imprisonment), after considering the
`factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable,if it finds
`that ... extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction... .
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`18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
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`Il.
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`ANALYSIS
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`A.
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`“Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons”
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`Congress tasked the Sentencing Commission with providing guidance to courts
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`regarding the application of the compassionate release statute. See 28 U.S.C. § 994(t) (“The
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`Commission, in promulgating general policy statements regarding the sentencing modification
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`provisionsin section 3582(c)(1)(A)oftitle 18, shall describe what should be considered
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`extraordinary and compelling reasons for sentence reduction, including thecriteria to be applied
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`anda list of specific examples.”); see also United States v. Ebbers, 432 F. Supp. 3d 421, 427
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`(S.D.N.Y. 2020). The Commission’s policy statement and commentary concerning §
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`3582(c)(1)(A) are found in U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 1B1.13, which states that a court may
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`reduce a sentencefor “[e]xtraordinary and compelling reasons,” including where the defendantis
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`“suffering from a terminalillness (i.e., a serious and advanced illness with an end oflife
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`trajectory),” such as “metastatic solid-tumor cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), end-
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`stage organ disease, and advanced dementia.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(1)(A) & cmt. n.1(A)Q@).
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`The Governmentarguesthat Coles’ diagnosis of amyloid cardiomyopathy
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`constitutes an “‘extraordinary and compelling reason’ warranting the requested reduction in
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`sentence.” (Mot. (Dkt. No. 937) at 3 (quotation marks for emphasis in original))
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`Amyloid cardiomyopathyis a “rare cardiac condition characterized by deposits of
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`amyloid protein in the heart muscle, causing the heart to stiffen and thereby limiting its ability to
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`pumpblood to the body.
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`[Amyloid cardiomyopathy] patients experience a progressive decline in
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`function, beginning with fatigue and shortness of breath and ending with potential heart failure,
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`inability to perform even the mostbasic daily activities, and eventually death. Without
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`treatment, patients have a median life expectancy of two to three-and-a-half years after
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`diagnosis. An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 Americans, most of whom are elderly, suffer from
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`the condition.” Pfizer, Inc v. United States Dep’t of Health & Hum.Servs., 42 F.4th 67, 70 (2d
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`Cir. 2022) (quotations omitted).
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`Here, the Governmentrepresents that Coles’ prognosisis “extremely poor, with a
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`life expectancy offive to six months, and a 100 percent mortality rate within one year.” (Mot.
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`(Dkt. No. 937) at 2). As noted above, Coles is now 70 years old. He has been hospitalized for
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`the past three months. He has suffered cardiac arrest, and six minutes of CPR were required to
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`resuscitate him. An automatic defibrillator has been implanted in his heart. Coles’ heart
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`condition is regarded as terminal. (Id.)
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`This Court concludes that Coles’ amyloid cardiomyopathy condition constitutes
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`an “extraordinary and compelling reason[]” for purposes of the compassionate release statute.
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`See United States v. Kelley, 464 F. Supp. 3d 1134, 1135, 1137 (N.D. Cal. 2020) (finding
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`extraordinary and compelling reasons where defendant suffered from terminal prostate cancer
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`with two-year life expectancy); United States v. Winckler, Criminal Action No. 13-318, 2020
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`WL 1666652, at *2 (W.D. Pa. Apr. 3, 2020) (finding extraordinary and compelling
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`circumstances where defendant was diagnosed with “stage-four metastatic thyroid cancer” and
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`had life expectancy of less than twelve months); United States v. Wong Chi Fai, 93-CR-1340
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`(RID), 2019 WL 3428504, at *1, *3 (E.D.N.Y. July 30, 2019)(finding extraordinary and
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`compelling circumstances where defendant suffered from “metastatic papillary thyroid cancer”
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`with twelve-month life expectancy).
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`B.
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`Section 3553(a) Factors
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`Asto the Section 3553(a) factors, Coles’ offense is serious. He was a manager
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`and supervisor of a massive, multi-year-long scheme to commit bribery and unlawfully obtain
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`information about motor vehicle accident victims from hospitals and law enforcement. He
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`personally profited from this schemeto the tune of millions of dollars.
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`As to Coles’ personal history and characteristics, he had a stable upbringing. (See
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`PSR (Dkt. No. 520) € 130) He has been married four times and has four children.
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`(Id. {{{ 131-
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`32, 136) He has a GED andanassociate’s degree and worked as a computer technician for many
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`years before becoming a medical clinic manager, including at one ofthe medicalclinics involved
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`in the charged scheme.
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`(Id. {J 165-69). He has a history of drug abuse.
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`(Id.
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`149-55) Before
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`his instant conviction, he had a 1969 conviction for petit larceny, a 1977 conviction for
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`attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance, and a 1977 federal conviction for bank
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`robbery in the Eastern District of New York, for which he received a sentence of four years’
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`imprisonment.
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`(Id. § 113-18)
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`This Court finds, however, that given Coles’ terminalillness, his short life
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`expectancy, and the conditions of his supervised release, his release does not pose a dangerto the
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`community. See United States v. Perez Alvarado, Case Nos. 16-cr-00940-BAS,16-cr-02770-
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`BAS, 17-cr-07017-BAS, 2020 WL 5203386,at *2-3 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 1, 2020) (granting
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`compassionate release where defendant was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, which was
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`“likely to be a terminal diagnosis,” and which maderecidivism “unlikely”) (quotation omitted);
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`Winckler, 2020 WL 1666652, at *2-3 (finding that defendant’s “age, cancer diagnosis and
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`deteriorating physical condition makeit unlikely that Defendant will reoffend” where defendant
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`was 59 years old, had stage four thyroid cancer, and hadalife expectancy of less than a year).
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`Finally, Coles has served a yearin prison. Given his terminal diagnosis and
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`deteriorating medical condition, further imprisonment is not necessary to serve the goals of
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`deterrence and promoting respect for the law. See United States v. Karr, No. 6:17-CR-25-REW,
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`2020 WL 774363, at *5—6 (E.D. Ky. Feb. 18, 2020) (granting compassionate release where
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`defendant had served two years of 108-month sentence, was diagnosed with stage four lung
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`cancer, and had a life expectancy of less than twelve months; finding that there is “no material
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`risk of future criminality in a reduction based on a post-crime, terminal diagnosis”).
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`Finally, Coles’ offense — conspiracy to violate the Travel Act — did not involve
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`violence or a risk of violence.
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`The Court concludesthat Coles’ amyloid cardiomyopathy and short life
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`expectancy constitute “extraordinary and compelling reasons” that warrant his release, and that
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`these circumstancesare not outweighed by the Section 3553(a) factors.
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`CONCLUSION
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`The Government’s motion for Defendant Coles’ compassionate release (Dkt. No.
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`937) is granted, and heis ordered released pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). The terms
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`and conditions of Coles’ supervised release set forth in the December 14, 2021 Judgment (Dkt.
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`No. 637) are re-imposed, with the following amendment:
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`The standard condition of supervised release that requires employment (Dkt. No. 637
`at 4, clause 7) is suspended.
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`Dated: New York, New York
`February 9, 2023
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`SO ORDERED.
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`4
`DO
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`PaulG.Gardephe
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`United States District Judge
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