“The reach of the aggravated identity theft statute is also extremely important,” Jeffrey Fisher, an attorney for Dubin with the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, wrote in his petition. “The statute subjects an offender to a mandatory two-year prison sentence that must be stacked on top of the sentence for the predicate felony. (Here, for example, the statute nearly tripled petitioner’s term of imprisonment.)” (Parentheses in original.)

Dubin claims his case is just one area where this rule is applied, and the Fifth Circuit’s ruling will have wide implications.

“Under the Fifth Circuit’s rule, moreover, the additional two-year sentence applies not only to most every commission of healthcare fraud, but would also sweep in tax preparers, immigration attorneys, and anyone else convicted of submitting any form on someone’s behalf that contains a misrepresentation unrelated to the person’s identity,” Fisher wrote.

The government argues that Dubin qualifies for the enhanced sentence and that, even if the court were interested in examining the question presented, this case would be a poor vehicle to do so.