Sentencing Issue re Money Laundering and Wire Fraud Convictions, Plus Immigration Matter

By FindLaw Staff on July 08, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

US v. Matos, No. 09-1178, concerned a challenge to the district court's imposition of a sentence of 84-months' imprisonment and four years' supervised release for defendant's wire fraud and money laundering convictions.  The court affirmed the 84-month sentence in concluding that the defendant cannot establish that his concurrent sentences of 84 months constitutes plain error.  The court also held that Godin and Ahrendt do not advocate in favor of remanding for resentencing in light of Amendment 709, that the district court did not commit plain error in counting defendant's prior convictions, and that defendant has not met his burden of showing that the district court's orders of restitution was plain error.  However, the court vacated district court's imposition of four years of supervised release and remanded for the sole purpose of the imposition of a new term of supervised release on all counts that does not exceed three years

Nako v. Holder, No. 09-2351, concerned a petition for review of a BIA's affirmance of IJ's denial of an Albanian family's request for asylum and related relief.  In denying the petition, the court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA's and IJ's conclusion that fundamental changes in the Albanian political situation since 2001, when petitioner-father was last in Albania, rebutted the presumption that the father had a well-founded fear of future persecution by his Socialist Party adversaries.  The court also held that substantial evidence supported a conclusion that the evidence was insufficient for petitioner to make out a claim for CAT protection.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard