USCA4 Appeal: 22-4136 Doc: 39 Filed: 04/04/2023 Pg: 1 of 8 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 22-4136 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. SAMUEL MANU AGYAPONG, a/k/a Sammy Tuga, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Louise W. Flanagan, District Judge. (5:19-cr-00423-FL-5) Submitted: February 9, 2023 Decided: April 4, 2023 Before NIEMEYER, HARRIS, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished opinion. Judge Niemeyer wrote the opinion, in which Judge Harris and Judge Quattlebaum joined. ON BRIEF: W. Michael Dowling, THE DOWLING FIRM PLLC, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant. Michael F. Easley, Jr., United States Attorney, David A. Bragdon, Assistant United States Attorney, Lucy Partain Brown, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 22-4136 Doc: 39 Filed: 04/04/2023 Pg: 2 of 8 NIEMEYER, Circuit Judge: A jury convicted Samuel Agyapong on nine counts charging him with naturalization fraud, harboring an illegal alien, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, unlawful disposition of United States property, witness tampering, and false statements, variously in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2, 371, 641, 1001, 1324(a), 1325(c), 1425(a), 1425(b), and 1512(b). He now appeals, contending solely that the jury had insufficient evidence with which to convict him. We affirm. “A defendant challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction bears a heavy burden.” United States v. Beidler, 110 F.3d 1064, 1067 (4th Cir. 1997) (cleaned up). Following a jury trial, “[w]e do not reweigh the evidence or the credibility of witnesses, but assume that the jury resolved all contradictions in the testimony in favor of the Government.” United States v. Roe, 606 F.3d 180, 186 (4th Cir. 2010). Also, we must “allow the government the benefit of all reasonable inferences from the facts proven to those sought to be established.” United States v. Tresvant, 677 F.2d 1018, 1021 (4th Cir. 1982). Accordingly, when reviewing a verdict for the sufficiency of the evidence, we must determine “whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979). This case was tried before a jury over the period of a week, with testimony presented through numerous witnesses, both for the prosecution and the defense. The record shows that Samuel Agyapong (“Sam”), a native of Ghana, joined the U.S. Army, and, while stationed in Italy, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Several months after becoming a 2 USCA4 Appeal: 22-4136 Doc: 39 Filed: 04/04/2023 Pg: 3 of 8 citizen, Sam traveled briefly to New York City and, on January 13, 2015, married Barbara Oppong (“Barbara”), a fellow Ghanian native. After the wedding, Sam returned to Italy. In December 2015, Sam returned from Italy to his base at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North …
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