In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 19-1153 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. TAIWO K. ONAMUTI, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. No. 1:16-cr-00093-1 — James R. Sweeney, II, Judge. ____________________ ARGUED OCTOBER 6, 2020 — DECIDED DECEMBER 18, 2020 ____________________ Before WOOD, BRENNAN, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges. SCUDDER, Circuit Judge. Taiwo Onamuti, a Nigerian citizen, pleaded guilty to identity theft and defrauding the U.S. Treas- ury out of $5 million through illegitimate tax refunds. His plea agreement with the government waived his right to appeal his conviction “on any ground” except for a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Onamuti later sought to withdraw his plea, arguing that his lawyer failed to advise him that his con- victions would subject him to mandatory deportation. The 2 No. 19-1153 district court denied the motion without an evidentiary hear- ing, a ruling Onamuti challenges on appeal. We cannot reach the issue, however, and indeed dismiss the appeal, as Ona- muti is bound by the waiver of appeal he agreed to in his plea agreement. I From 2014 to 2016, Onamuti led an identity-theft ring re- sponsible for filing almost 1,500 tax returns and netting $5 million in illicit refunds. The fraud scheme entailed sophis- tication, requiring the use of stolen personal identifying infor- mation to file fraudulent returns requesting maximum re- funds and then laundering the proceeds domestically and abroad. At times the ring exploited government websites to gather information needed to submit the returns and to en- sure that legitimate returns had not already been filed. Once the authorities detected the fraud, a federal indict- ment followed. A grand jury charged Onamuti with eleven counts of presenting false claims, 18 U.S.C. § 287, nine counts of identity theft, id. § 1028(a)(7), two counts of aggravated identity theft, id. § 1028A, and one count of conspiracy to de- fraud the United States, id. § 371. Onamuti pleaded guilty to one count each of false claims, identity theft, and aggravated identity theft. In his accompa- nying plea agreement, Onamuti expressly acknowledged that, while his plea “may have consequences” for his immi- gration status, he “nevertheless” wanted to accept responsi- bility for his offense conduct “regardless of any immigration consequences” that a plea may entail. He likewise certified that he had read the agreement, discussed it with his attorney, and understood its terms. Onamuti also “expressly waive[d]” No. 19-1153 3 the right to appeal his conviction “on any ground” except a claim alleging the ineffective assistance of counsel. During his plea colloquy, Onamuti confirmed under oath that, by pleading guilty pursuant to the agreement, he “may very well be deported” and that he was waiving his appellate rights. The district court accepted Onamuti’s plea as knowing and voluntary and later sentenced him to 204 months’ impris- onment. II A On appeal, Onamuti continues to pursue withdrawing his guilty plea. He first sought to do so ...
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