United States v. Johanna Michely Garcia

── United States v. Johanna Michely Garcia ── Case No.: 24-14110 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: March 17, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 24-14110 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 03/17/2026 Page: 1 of 10 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 24-14110 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus JOHANNA MICHELY GARCIA, Defendant- Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 1:23-cr-20350-JEM-1 ____________________ Before LUCK, LAGOA, and BRASHER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Johanna Garcia appeals her 240-month sentence for conspir- acy to commit wire and mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349. She argues that the district court miscalculated her Sentencing USCA11 Case: 24-14110 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 03/17/2026 Page: 2 of 10 2 Opinion of the Court 24-14110 Guidelines range by including both substantial hardship and vul- nerable victim enhancements. See United States Sentencing Guide- lines § 2B1.1(b)(2)(C) (Nov. 2024); U.S.S.G. § 3A1.1(b). She also ar- gues that the district court imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence by failing to consider the need to avoid unwarranted sen- tencing disparities under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6). We affirm. I. This is a case about a $200 million Ponzi scheme. According to the parties’ factual proffer, Garcia operated three related compa- nies—MJ Capital, MJ Taxes and More, and MJ Enterprise Inc.—os- tensibly for the purpose of providing merchant cash advances to small businesses. Garcia solicited money from investors to fund MCAs by promising significant returns. In reality, Garcia and her co-conspirator employees were running a classic Ponzi scheme. They paid prior investors with new investor funds and diverted the rest of the money for their personal use. During this time, Garcia was manager, president, and CEO of MJ Capital and its related entities. In these roles, she was respon- sible for the “day to day operations” of her companies. She was an authorized signer for all bank accounts and controlled receipt and disbursement of much of the money raised during the scheme. She was not alone, however. Garcia also received significant support from her co-conspirator Pavel Ruiz, who joined the conspiracy nine months after it began. Ruiz assisted Garcia in managing the various MJ entities and oversaw a group of fifty subordinates. He USCA11 Case: 24-14110 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 03/17/2026 Page: 3 of 10 24-14110 Opinion of the Court 3 was described as Garcia’s “right-hand-man.” Presentence Investiga- tion Report ¶ 55. After receiving a complaint filed by a victim investor, the FBI and SEC investigated and closed MJ Capital. Undeterred, Garcia began operating a new venture, appropriately named New Begin- ning Global Funding LLC. Garcia and others raised at least $3 mil- lion from about twenty individuals, including an 84-year-old victim who allegedly suffered from dementia. Garcia repeatedly coaxed the victim