Case 1:18-cr-00325-TFH Document 17 Filed 03/22/19 Page 1 of 20

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Plaintiff CRIMINAL NO. 18-325 (TFH)

v.

JOSÉ G. RAMÍREZ-ARONE, JR.

Defendant

SENTENCING MEMORANDUM
TO THE HONORABLE COURT:

COMES NOW Defendant, through the undersigning attorney and very respectfully

states and prays:

1. This Honorable Court has set March 26, 2019 as the date for Mr. José G. Ramírez-

Arone to be sentenced by the Court.

2. We have reviewed the Plea Agreement, Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”),

and other documents in this case and would like to express the reasons we are

respectfully requesting that this Court depart downward from the applicable Zone

D to Zone B, and sentence Mr. José G. Ramírez-Arone to 27 months of home

detention pursuant § 5C1.1(c)(3) of the Sentencing Guidelines.

I. THE OFFENSE CONDUCT

3. Mr. José G. Ramírez-Arone was the subject of a One-Count Information for Bank

Fraud under 18 USC § 1344, for allegedly participating in a scheme that falsified

non-purpose credit line applications, also known as lines of credit (“LOC”).

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4. Mr. Ramírez plead guilty to Count One with a guidelines calculation of 27-33

months. We are requesting that Mr. Ramírez be sentenced to 27 months of home

detention, for the reasons set forth below.

II. MR. RAMÍREZ-ARONE’S PERSONAL HISTORY AND

BACKGROUND
5. José Gabriel Ramírez-Arone was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October of

1958. He is a 60-year-old father of three young adults who are the product of his

first marriage. José divorced their mother in 2012 but has always maintained a close

and great relationship with his children. He remarried in 2014 and currently lives

with his wife, Mrs. Mariem Cárdenas, in the state of Maryland. José is the youngest

of two siblings who grew up in a rather normal household with both parents, who

are sadly now deceased. His father was an alcoholic during the time he was growing

up, but he quit drinking and managed to get sober. José would accompany him to

alcoholic anonymous meetings and thus, learned to identify potential indicators of

alcoholism which later allowed him to recognize he was in fact an alcoholic and

quit drinking in his 30’s. José always remained close to his parents and is still very

close to his sister, who has been extremely supportive throughout this whole

process.

6. Mr. Ramírez’s great relationships with his parents, his children, his sister, and his

wife are not isolated events. José is a very likeable guy whose good character and

reputation precede him. José is known for being a trustworthy person who likes to

put others’ needs before his; he also enjoys giving back to the community. Many

were interviewed throughout this whole process and the common factor amongst

them was that people don’t say bad things about Mr. Ramírez. We are

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accompanying with this Sentencing Memorandum three letters1 that express and

summarize who Mr. Ramírez really is; these letters were written by:

i. Mariem Cárdenas, Mr. Ramírez’s wife, who married him even after the
market-crash and subsequent accusations against him began because of the
good person he really is; she highlights the kind of person he is and narrates
how all this process has also affected him;
ii. Lillian García, a lifelong friend, actress and radio talk show personality in
Puerto Rico, who speaks about his good nature and trustworthiness;
iii. Frank Nieves-Fernández, a childhood friend and an attorney, who writes
about his good character and personality.
7. The PSR prepared in this case also shows José’s good reputation. Example of this

is José’s sister who described him as “a very good man” who “couldn’t be a better

person”. (See Docket Entry No. 14, PSR at page 7, no. 33). José’s daughter

expressed her support towards her father and described him as a “‘solid person,’

who has always gone out of his way to help anyone in need”. (Id. at no. 34). Ms.

Cárdenas also expressed her support and described him as being “too good of a

guy”, “one of the best and good people that [she] knows”, who was always looking

out for people, and specially for his clients, with whom he maintained a father-son-

type of relationship. (Id. at no. 35).

8. Not only do his long-time friends and family talk highly of him, but Mr. Ramírez’s

good reputation was also known in his professional arena. Mr. Ramírez began his

professional career as a broker and financial advisor in 1986. He was respected by

his peers and was always known as a straight-up guy who became really good

1 See Attachment 1

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friends with his clients. It should not come as a surprise, then, that before the events

of 2013, not a single claim or suit was filed against Mr. Ramírez.2

9. Mr. Ramírez began suffering from mental health problems in the 1980’s. In 2009,

he was diagnosed with high anxiety, severe depression, and bipolar disorder. Sadly,

depression is not an uncommon illness within José’s family; his sister also suffers

from depression as well as his father, though his illness remained untreated all his

life. In 2013, Mr. Ramírez was formally diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety

Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder by his treating psychiatrist, Dr. Juan

Fumero, MD. 3 He has been prescribed many medications, antipsychotics,

anxiolytics, and antidepressants to treat his mental illnesses. However, Mr.

Ramírez still suffers from anxiety attacks and recurring depression symptoms that

affect his daily life. Mr. Ramírez’s mental illnesses are so severe that have rendered

him incapacitated and unable to perform routine tasks. He currently receives

benefits from the Social Security Administration due to his mental health status.

10. Mr. Ramírez was diagnosed in 1994 with high blood pressure and in 1999 with

sleep-apnea, a very serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s breathing is

interrupted while he sleeps. For his high blood pressure, José takes daily

medication that stabilizes his condition. As for the sleep-apnea, he was ordered a

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (“CPAP”) machine which keeps his airway

2 This information can be verified through https://brokercheck.finra.org, an online server powered by FINRA
(“Financial Industry Regulatory Authority”) that publishes the backgrounds, experiences, claims, complaints,
regulatory and disciplinary actions of and against financial brokers, advisers, and firms. FINRA is authorized by the
U.S. Congress to regulate and protect the securities industry, and as such, publishes brokers’ and firms’ information
that can be easily accessed by the public.
3 A copy of Mr. Ramírez-Arone’s medical record and progress notes with Dr. Fumero is attached to this Sentencing

Memorandum; it’s identified as Attachment 2.

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open, allowing him to breath normally; sleeping without this machine may result

in very dangerous and life-threating issues for him.

III. SHARED LIABILITY

A. Mr. Ramírez’s Acceptance of Responsibility

11. Mr. Ramírez accepted responsibility for his actions and thus, entered a Plea

Agreement with the Government. José was interviewed by USPO Kelly Kraemer-

Soares and again accepted responsibility for his offense, as stipulated in the Plea

Agreement. Mr. Ramírez asserts that he is remorseful and has been extremely

affected by all that has happened. Mr. Ramírez’s mental health has deteriorated

significantly as a consequence of the events leading up to this case.

B. UBS’ Brokers Are Also Liable

12. Mr. Ramírez is not the only Broker whose clients used non-purpose loans or LOCs

to purchase securities such as CEFs. UBS knew about this and issued letters to at

least seven financial advisors for knowing, allowing, or encouraging their clients

to draw money from their LOCs to purchase CEFs.4 This further confirms that

other Brokers and employees were involved in the scheme and that UBS-PR was

fully aware of the transactions.

13. After having been provided a Proffer Letter from the government, (approximately

4 years before the filing of the information) Mr. Ramírez decided to accept the

proposal and agreed to speak with the government, with officials from SEC and

FBI agents. During this meeting, Mr. Ramírez disclosed the names of many

employees, brokers, managers, officials, and even clients that also had knowledge

4 Attachment 3 are copies of some of the letters issued by UBS.

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and were involved in the scheme, even though none of these persons has been

prosecuted for their involvement. Specifically, Mr. Ramírez pointed out that Doel

García, Ramiro Colón, and David Lugo knew about the transactions. In another

cooperation meeting with the FBI, Mr. Ramírez told agents about other persons

that knew what was happening and encouraged the transactions. More importantly,

seven of the nine persons Ramírez singled-out, which are listed below, had

numerous clients’ claims against them for their involvement in the scheme5.

• Doel García, UBS Executive- Has 81 claims against him, a total of attributed
damages of $17,752,265.
• Ramiro Colón, Branch Manager and Ramírez’s supervisor- Has a total of
attributed damages of $16,451,194 in clients’ claims + a penalty of $25,000
and suspension of 12 months imposed as a regulatory sanction by the SEC.
Interestingly, Mr. Colón was the only person, other than Mr. Ramírez, that was
subjected to regulatory sanctions.
• Carlos Ubiñas, Chairman and President of UBS-PR- Has 79 clients’ claims
against him, a total of attributed damages of $32,413,626.
• David Lugo, Broker and fellow colleague in Mr. Ramírez’s branch- Has 181
clients’ claims against him, a total of attributed damages of $361,849,558.
• Fernando Castillo, Broker- Has a total of attributed damages of $19,986,859
in clients’ claims.
• Leslie Highley, Broker- Has a total of attributed damages of $26,477,165 in
clients’ claims.
• Luis Sánchez, Broker- Has a total of attributed damages of $15,505,059 in
clients’ claims.
14. In FINRA case no. 13-035206, a UBS-PR client – who was never serviced by Mr.

Ramírez – was awarded $9,000,000.00 in compensatory damages. Most

5 All these claims are available at https://brokercheck.finra.org, in each persons’ profile.

6 This FINRA Arbitration Award is included as Attachment 4.

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importantly, UBS-PR and its parent company were slapped with $1,000,000.00 in

punitive damages due to “UBS[’] intentional and willful provision of a ‘non-

purpose’ loan which was either knowingly encouraged to be ‘recycled’ to buy more

securities in violation of Regulation U.” According to the arbitration award:

Respondent UBS’s exercised extreme recklessness and indifference to

the consequences of loan recycling by failing to utilize a supervisory
system which would have alerted upper management that Claimant
Romero had taken $8,000,000.00 from his non-purpose loan account on
one day and redeposited the exact same amount less than two weeks later
to buy securities. Moreover Respondent UBS managers in New York
were informed and denied that loans were being recycled in Puerto Rico
and used to buy securities. The closed end funds which comprised a
majority of Claimants investments with Respondent UBS, were not
marginable and thus Respondent UBS benefited from the loan recycling.

15. Mr. Ramírez has conceded that he benefitted from the loan recycling scheme while

generating $1,255,000 from this activity. However, as the quoted arbitration award

makes clear and a brief comparison of attributed amounts reveals, fellow Brokers,

UBS Executives and UBS itself participated in and significantly benefitted from

the very same scheme that the Government has solely attributed to Mr. Ramírez.

16. Furthermore, UBS’ employees were not the only active participants in this

scheme. 7 UBS customers were fully aware of UBS’ internal policies and

voluntarily agreed, or sometimes sought, participation. It should be noted that all

the claims that customers presented against UBS-PR and its employees, do not

directly mention the so-called loan-recycling scheme. Their claims specifically

mention that brokers and officials misrepresented and mismanaged their

investments in CEFs and Puerto Rico municipal bonds. However, purchasing

theses securities was in fact part of the scheme. Clients do not claim damages for

7 Attachment 5 is a set of redacted documents that exemplify this statement.

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UBS’ scheme because they too were participants and were involved.

C. UBS And Its Executives Are Also Liable

17. UBS-PR, along with its managers and brokers, were also involved in the alleged

scheme that involved falsifying non-purpose credit line applications in order for

clients to use the LOCs to buy securities (“scheme”). They knew the type of

transactions that were being made and did nothing to stop it or correct it. They

condoned and encouraged the behavior and the transactions; it just so happens that

UBS is a huge entity that has acquisitive power and can easily influence its people

and the media to use a “scapegoat” and avoid prosecution. The “scapegoat” that

UBS-PR found was none other than Mr. Ramírez.8 Thus, while Mr. Ramírez has

accepted responsibility for his actions, it should be noticed that his employer at the

time of the offense, UBS Financial Services, Inc. of Puerto Rico (“UBS-PR” or

“UBS”), and UBS Bank USA, are not victims in this case.

18. UBS condoned the practice of improperly using non-purpose loans for purpose,

and thus, of falsifying the credit line applications.9 UBS Branch Managers were

required to review their branch’s trading activity to verify compliance with

company policies and regulations. For this, managers used a system that generated

monthly trading reports.10 These reports reflected the loan taken by a customer and

then the contemporary purchase of securities, including Closed-End Funds

(“CEF”), by the same customer. Furthermore, former branch manager Carlos

8 We have attached a letter directed to this Honorable Court, written by Mr. Carlos Capacete, a former branch manager
at UBS-PR, in which he explains in detail how UBS knew about the scheme and condoned it and used Mr. Ramírez
as a scapegoat; this letter is identified as Attachment 6.
9 See FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitration No. 11-04211, available at: https://www.finra.org/arbitration-and-

mediation/arbitration-awards. In his complaint against UBS-PR, Mr. Carlos Capacete, a former UBS-PR branch
manager and financial advisor, briefly exposes this practice.
10 Attachment 7 is the UBS Compliance Bulletin no. 06-16 which further explains this matter.

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Capacete became aware of the scheme and alerted UBS’ Compliance Office. 11

However, his claims were disregarded, and he subsequently suffered from a hostile

working environment.12 So even if Compliance Officers were not involved in the

beginning, they became aware and had full knowledge of the scheme.

19. It was convenient for UBS to encourage and allow this scheme and transactions to

be done; it was another way for the company to generate revenue. Between 2011

and 2012 alone, UBS-PR improperly generated eighty-three million nine-hundred

thousand dollars ($83,900,000) in revenue from sales of LOCs and CEFs. 13 It

should be noted that Mr. Ramírez has accepted responsibility for improperly

generating one million two-hundred and twenty-five thousand five-hundred dollars

($1,225,500) from this same activity over a period of three years. Precisely because

UBS was benefitting from these transactions and trades, UBS’ internal policy

regarding the use of money obtained through lines of credit to acquire securities

changed over time.14

20. Because of their involvement in the scheme, UBS-PR was subjected to at least four

different Regulatory Proceedings.15 Interestingly enough, UBS was sanctioned for

failing to prevent that its brokers and consequently, its clients, participated in the

scheme. UBS’ sanctions and penalties were as follows:

• In 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) ordered UBS-

PR to pay twenty-six million six-hundred-thousand dollars ($26,600,000), of

11 A written interview that Mr. Capacete gave to Frontline and he further explains this matter; this interview is included

as Attachment 8.
12 See F.N. 9
13 In 2015, UBS-PR was subjected to a regulatory proceeding initiated by FINRA. This amount was accepted by UBS-

PR in the settlement agreement, which can be found be accessing UBS-PR’s profile in https://brokercheck.finra.org,
14 Attached hereto is a copy of an email that brokers, including Mr. Ramírez, received from UBS Executives

implementing programs that allowed customers to purchase structured products with their lines of credit; it’s identified
as Attachment 9.
15 Available at https://brokercheck.finra.org.

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which fourteen million dollars ($14,000,000) were imposed as a fine.

• In 2014, the Puerto Rico Commissioner of Financial Institutions (“OCFI”)
ordered payment of five million one-hundred-eighty-one-thousand seven-
hundred and forty-two dollars ($5,181,742). This settlement agreement also
established that six financial advisors were placed in enhanced supervision
after certain current and former UBS brokers may have been involved in the
abovementioned scheme.
• In 2015, the SEC again punished UBS-PR for its actions and UBS-PR was
ordered to pay fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) in disgorgement,
interest, and penalties.
• In 2015, FINRA ordered payment of seven million five-hundred-thousand
dollars ($7,500,000) in fines and ten million nine-hundred-seventy-eight-
thousand four-hundred-two dollars ($10,978,402) in restitution to over 160
clients.
D. Restitution Should Not Be Imposed In This Case

21. The government and the PSR have identified that the victims in this case are UBS

Bank USA, UBS-PR, or both. However, for the reasons stated above, we disagree

with this assertion; UBS was an active participant and should be treated as such.

22. The government informed in the Plea Agreement and again in their Sentencing

Memorandum that they will not be requesting restitution and the Court should not

order it. We concur with the government in that restitution should not be imposed,

but to the extent that a real victim has not been identified, and therefore, restitution

does not apply.

23. We also request that no fines be imposed, taking into consideration that the SEC in

civil case no.15-2365 in the District Court of Puerto Rico is waiting on this

sentencing in order to assess any civil penalty or disgorgement that they may seek

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in the case.16

IV. MR. RAMÍREZ ALREADY BEGAN SERVING HIS PUNISHMENT

24. The term punishment is defined as “suffering, pain, or loss that serves as

retribution”, a “severe, rough, or disastrous treatment”.17 It is also defined as “a

physically or psychologically painful, unwanted, or undesirable event or

circumstance imposed as a penalty on an actual or perceived wrongdoer”.18 It is a

popular perception that suffering from a debilitating mental illness is an unwanted

and undesirable circumstance. If the consequence of incurring in certain conduct is

that an already fragile mental status will deteriorate significantly, one can consider

that consequence as being a punishment for the actions. That is not to say that

humans are responsible or can control their overall health. Rather, that some

consequences to people’s actions are punishments instead of rewards, because even

when a person does not think of them self as a “wrongdoer” at the time they are

doing something, that does not mean they are not in the wrong.

25. Mr. Ramírez suffered the ultimate consequences of his involvement immediately

after the details of the alleged loan-recycling scheme surfaced; the consequences

he has been facing are definitely punishment for his actions. Mr. Ramírez lost

everything19; he lost all his money, all his assets, friends, and even family. To make

matters worse, Mr. Ramírez’s elderly mother at the time even lost her house.

26. When his clients, friends, and family lost everything, he could not help but feel like

16 Attachment 10 is the latest status report that the SEC filed in the Court. Footnote no. 1 of this document specifically
states this argument.
17 Merriam-Webster Dictionary
18 As defined by the American Psychology Association (APA).
19 Included with this Sentencing Memorandum are Mr. Ramírez’s UBS Financial Portfolio (Attachment 11) and IRA

Statement (Attachment 12) to better illustrate this matter.

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a disappointment. The amount of guilt and anxiety he felt, provoked his physical

and mental health to collapse. Mr. Ramírez now weighs 282lbs; his physical health

is in danger due to the significant amount of weight he has gained. As can be seen

in the picture below, Mr. Ramírez’s overall health has deteriorated significantly

due to the severe stress, anxiety, and depression he is suffering.

27. As was previously explained, UBS used its acquisitive power and influences to use

Mr. Ramírez as its scapegoat in the whole situation. Consequently, Mr. Ramírez

was the only person who receive tons of media exposure. Not only did news of his

involvement in UBS’ scheme was widely spread in Puerto Rico, but it reached

media attention in the United States, Brazil, United Kingdom, Switzerland, and

even Germany. We have attached to this Sentencing Memorandum over thirty (30)

news and magazine articles20 from the United States, the United Kingdom, Puerto

Rico, and Brazil, that cover UBS’s scheme and focus their attention mainly on Mr.

Ramírez. 21 The media exposure he received became so unbearable, that Mr.

20Attachments 13-1 through 13-6

21Regarding the articles from Puerto Rico and Brazil, these have been translated from Spanish and Portuguese to
English by a Court Certified Translator; we have included the pertinent Certificate of Translation and is identified as
Attachment 14.

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Ramírez and his wife had to move from Puerto Rico to the state of Maryland.

28. As soon as he learned about what was being done to him, Mr. Ramírez had a serious

downfall and even became suicidal. He could not understand why UBS was entirely

blaming him for the actions that UBS itself was doing, condoning, and

encouraging. Mr. Ramírez’s mental health continued on a downward spiral that

could have cost him his life had he not left the island.

29. However, media exposure was not the only factor that pushed Mr. Ramírez’s

mental health over the edge. He was a good friend and worker; friends and family

believed in Mr. Ramírez, as he believed in himself. Mr. Ramírez’s friends were his

clients and he had such great relationships with his clients, that they eventually

became friends. Mr. Ramírez and his clients were supportive of one another and

even celebrated each other’s achievements outside of the office. Example of this is

a cocktail party which many of his clients attended in 201022; clients such as Víctor

Gómez and his wife Socorro Horta, Carlos Pla, Frank Torres, Agustín Mujica,

Bruno Rodríguez, Ivelisse Torres, and Ramón Negrón.23 It should be noted that

Carlos Pla is Mr. Ramírez’s daughter’s godfather; Mr. Pla lost tons of money and

filed claims against UBS. Needless to say, Mr. Ramírez’s relationship with Mr. Pla

is permanently tainted, as it is with basically all his friends.

30. Mr. Ramírez began his professional career as a financial advisor in 1986 and

remained in the financial industry until 2013. Because of UBS’ accusations towards

Mr. Ramírez, by 2014, FINRA had barred him from associating with financial

22 We have attached pictures from this event in which Mr. Ramírez’s clients and some coworkers can be seen; these

are identified as Attachment 15.

23 Víctor Gómez, his brother Andrés Gómez, Socorro Horta, Agustín Mujica and Bruno Rodríguez filed claims for the

losses. Víctor Gómez’s entire family were also Mr. Ramírez’s clients.

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institutions under any capacity. Thus, he is unable to ever work as a financial

advisor again, a profession that he has practiced all his life.

V. REQUEST FOR DEPARTURE AND HOME DETENTION

31. While Mr. Ramírez does not contend that the TOL for his offense is 18, and thus,

falls in Zone D of the Sentencing Table, we request that a downward departure be

granted as to the applicable Zone B. We are respectfully requesting that the

applicable guideline range be treated as falling in Zone B. Subsequently, we request

that he be sentenced to home detention for imprisonment pursuant § 5C1.1(c)(3) of

the Sentencing Guidelines.

32. In determining a sentence, courts should consider the kinds of sentences available,

pursuant § 3553(a)(3) of title 18 of the USC. Section 5KF1.2 of the guidelines

define “home detention” as a program of confinement and supervision that restricts

a defendant to his place of residence continuously, enforces by appropriate means

of surveillance. Home detention is a kind of sentence and also a substitute for

imprisonment. Furthermore, § 3553(a)(2)(D) instructs that a sentence should

provide a defendant the needed medical care in the most effective manner.

33. Even though the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) provides medical care and treatment

for inmates, many special medical needs are not met. The limited resources

available to inmates has proven to be detrimental.24 Correctional facilities are per

se barriers between inmates and the community. These facilities implement drastic

measures for security reasons; these measures also create barriers within the

facilities. Consequently, access to medical care and adequate treatment is

24 Brinkley-Rubinstein: Incarceration as a catalyst for worsening health. Health and Justice Journal 2013; available
at https://healthandjusticejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2194-7899-1-3.

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extremely limited. This limited access has proven to be detrimental to inmates’

health. Specific issues related to healthcare that have a significantly negative

impact on inmates’ mental health include issue caused by institutions themselves,

such as delay in obtaining medications, administration of medications, and

incorrectly discontinuing and inmates’ medication.25

34. Studies show that imprisonment is directly associated with mental health problems

such as anxiety and depression, and that people who have been incarcerated are

likely to suffer from a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”). 26

Considering the already fragile mental health state that Mr. Ramírez suffers,

incarceration would prove to be extremely detrimental. Mr. Ramírez already

suffers from a severe form of general anxiety disorder and major depression;

imprisonment would only worsen his conditions. Mr. Ramírez currently takes

many prescription medications to help treat his illnesses. However, because his

symptoms are recurring and debilitating, medication adjustments have to be

frequently made.

35. Incarceration focuses in deterrence and punishment, rather than in treatment and

care. However, it is fundamental that sentences also focus on rehabilitation. In

order to achieve rehabilitation, a person must submit to treatment and education;

but the kind of treatment required for a person to rehabilitate is not rigid. Even

25 Hatton DC, Kleffel D, Fisher AA: Prisoners’ perspectives of health problems and healthcare in a US women’s

jail. Women & Health 2007, 44(1):119–136; Magee CG, Hult JR, Turalba R, McMillan S: Preventative care for
women in prison: A qualitative community health assessment of the Papanicolaou test and treat follow-up treatment
at a California state women’s prison. American Journal of Public Health 2005, 95(10):1712–1717.
26 Blanc A, Lauwers V, Telmon N, Rouge D: The effect of incarceration on prisoners’ perception of their

health. Journal of Community Health 2001, 26(5):367–381; Fazel S, Danesh J: Serious mental disorder in 23000
prisoners: A systematic review of 62 surveys. Lancet 2002, 359(9306):545–550; Mallik-Kane K, Visher CA: Health
and prisoner reentry: How physical, mental and substance abuse conditions shape the process of reintegration.
Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press; 2008.

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though it would be too onerous for the BOP to individualize every inmates’

treatment, this burden would be eliminated if a person is allowed to serve a sentence

in home detention, especially if the defendant suffers from many serious health

conditions that require daily attention and special medical treatment. In Mr.

Ramírez’s case, the limited access to medical care provided in prison, would result

extremely prejudicial to his mental health. A sentence of incarceration would not

serve the rehabilitation purpose of a punishment and would result more harmful

than beneficial to him and to society.

36. Mr. Ramírez mental illnesses are so severe that have rendered him incapacitated.

He currently received benefits from the Social Security Administration (“SSA”).

Before the SSA granted the benefits, the SSA ordered a mental health evaluation

with a psychologist. The SSA disregarded the negative recommendation; and

instead they decided to give enhanced credibility to Dr. Fumero’s report and

recommendation, over every other physician.27 We have included a letter written

by Dr. Fumero in which he explains in detail the medical treatment and conditions

from which Mr. Ramírez suffers and further explains why he should not be

sentenced to a term of incarceration, but rather to home detention.28

37. Furthermore, even before Mr. Ramírez was the subject of the present case, law

enforcement and administrative agencies conducted investigations regarding his

involvement in the scheme. Mr. Ramírez has always been cooperative with law

enforcement officers, administrative agencies, and the government.

38. Mr. Ramírez had more than five debriefing interviews with the FBI and prosecutor

27 Attachment 16 is the SSA’s decision granting benefits to Mr. Ramírez

28 See Attachment 17

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in which he provided them with ample information pertinent to his involvement in

the offense, fellow employees’ participation, the clients’ knowledge, and how UBS

managed their accounts and his situation.29

39. It is our understanding that the government will acknowledge that he revealed

everything he knew about the scheme, and was truthful, candid, and cooperative in

all the interviews he provided during this case and even years before the present

case was filed.

VI. RELEVANT FACTORS UNDER 18 U.S.C. § 3553

40. It is not unreasonable for a Sentencing Judge to take into consideration the

guideline range, but it must also take into consideration the factors set forth in §

3553. In United States v. Whitehead, 532 F. 3d 991 (9th Cir. 2008), the Court

emphasized the broad discretion enjoyed by district courts in fashioning

sentences that fully and adequately reflect the penological factors set forth in 18

USC § 3553(a).

41. The conduct for which Mr. Ramírez will be sentenced should be tempered by his

personal history and circumstances, as well as other factors under § 3553(a). Even

though we cannot minimize the seriousness of the charges and Mr. Ramírez’s

offense conduct, we should consider that it did not involve violence, threats,

intimidation, or use and traffic of illegal weapons or drugs; José’s offense was one

of falsehood.

42. As stated above, Mr. Ramírez already started serving his punishment. In sum: he

lost all his money and assets, his family lost lots of money, his mother lost her

The interviews were conducted on April 14, 2014, April 23, 2014, October 2, 2014, and during other dates in
29

October of the same year.

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home, he is incapacitated and unable to perform daily tasks, was barred from

FINRA, lost many friends, his mental health deteriorated significantly, and his

physical health is in danger from gaining an enormous amount of weight. Mr.

Ramírez suffers from mental illnesses that have no cure and that even with

appropriate treatment, symptoms are recurring and dominate his life. Mr. Ramírez

needs very specific health treatments that are unavailable within the custody of the

BOP. Committing Mr. Ramírez to incarceration will not provide him with medical

care in the most effective manner, as required by § 3553(a)(2)(D).

43. Section 3553 (a)(2)(b) states or requests “adequate deterrence to criminal

conduct”. Even though Mr. Ramírez has accepted responsibility for his actions, we

should note that he is not a criminal, has no prior contact with the criminal justice

system, and was from the beginning unlikely to commit an offense.

Notwithstanding the latter, Mr. Ramírez has admitted his guilt and is facing his

mistakes before this Honorable Court. The fact that Mr. Ramírez substantially

cooperated with the Government, has complied with all requirements after he was

granted bail, and also accepted responsibility for his actions, clearly shows that he

has respect for the law and for authority and that he does not intend on committing

any other criminal activity.

44. It should also be noted that we have found no empirical evidence that supports the

belief that longer terms of imprisonment have more or less of a personal deterrent

value than shorter terms. Research on specific deterrence suggests that even

offenders who receive harsher penalties are not appreciably deterred. See e.g.

David Weisburd, et al., Specific Deterrence in a Sample of Offenders Convicted of

White-Collar Crimes, 33 Criminology 587 (1995); See also Paul J. Hofer & Mark
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H. Allenabugh, The Reason Behind the Rules: Finding and using the Philosophy

of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, 40 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 19, 61-62 (2003).

45. A sentence of 27 months of home detention, will reflect the seriousness of the

offense, will provide adequate deterrence, and will promote respect for the law.

The proposed sentence is sufficient but not greater than necessary and provides just

punishment for his offense.

VII. CONCLUSION

For the abovementioned factors, we respectfully request that this Honorable Court

take all relevant factors into consideration when imposing its sentence upon Mr. Ramírez

and respectfully request from this Court to:

A. depart downward from the applicable Zone D to Zone B;

B. impose a sentence of 27 months of home detention pursuant § 5C1.1(c)(3) of

the Sentencing Guidelines;

C. if this Honorable Court decided to impose a term of imprisonment, we

respectfully request a lower term of imprisonment as well as request that allows

Mr. Ramírez to surrender voluntarily.

WHEREFORE, it is respectfully requested from this Honorable Court to consider

the arguments in the present memorandum at sentencing and sentence Mr. José G.

Ramírez-Arone to a term of 27 months of Home Detention, with any other order, variance,

or departure that the Court may impose upon Defendant.

I HEREBY CERTIFY that on this same date, a true and exact copy of this

document has been filed using the CM/ECF system and that the government and all counsel

of record will be served a copy of this Motion.

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Case 1:18-cr-00325-TFH Document 17 Filed 03/22/19 Page 20 of 20

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 22nd, 2019.

/s/ Edgar L. Sánchez-Mercado

Edgar L. Sánchez-Mercado
ESM Law Office
255 Ponce De León Avenue
MCS Plaza Suite 1207
San Juan, PR 00917
Tel: (787) 764-6752
Email: esmlawoffice@gmail.com

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