See De-La-Cruz Castro, 299 F.3d at 12 (holding that the district court's statement that the defendant could appeal his sentence "under some circumstances" was correct insofar as waivers do not prevent the correction of a miscarriage of justice, and thus the statement did not negate the defendant's appeal waiver). Thus, the district court's statement about the limited circumstances under which Soto-Cruz could appeal his sentence does not negate the enforceability of his appeal waiver. Andis, 333 F.3d 886, 892 (8th Cir.) (en banc) (recognizing a narrow exception to the enforceability of an appeal waiver for an allegedly illegal sentence), cert. 2003) (refusing to enforce appeal waiver against defendant's claim that his sentence was based on a constitutionally impermissible factor), cert. Courts have long recognized that appeal waivers do not prevent a defendant from appealing a sentence that would result in a miscarriage of justice, such as a sentence imposed in violation of the law. The district court's statement in this case is not such a "broad assurance." Rather, its statement about Soto-Cruz's appeal rights was limited to the appeal of a sentence that Soto-Cruz thought was in violation of the law or was unreasonable. Soto-Cruz's scheme resulted in actual losses to his clients, including at least two banks, of more than $10 million. Soto-Cruz was able to perpetuate the scheme for nearly thirteen years, through the Dean Witter/Morgan Stanley merger, and even while working under several different supervisors. He then funneled his clients' investments through fictitious corporate accounts that he opened and controlled and into high-risk investments, keeping the profits of the risky investments for himself. He advised at least ten different individual and institutional clients to invest in low-risk securities, including mortgage-backed securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA). In 1991, Soto-Cruz began what turned into a twelve-year-long scheme to defraud his clients out of at least $58 million. He later worked for Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., which eventually merged with Morgan Stanley. in philosophy, became a registered stockbroker in 1989 for Paine Webber. Soto-Cruz, who worked his way out of a poor and troubled childhood to earn a Ph.D.
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