Fabian Muyaba v. William Barr, U. S. Atty Gen


Case: 18-60598 Document: 00515300321 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/06/2020 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED No. 18-60598 February 6, 2020 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk FABIAN KABWE MUYABA, also known as Fabian Muyaba, Petitioner v. WILLIAM P. BARR, U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals BIA No. A099 287 065 Before KING, COSTA, and HO, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Fabian Kabwe Muyaba is a citizen of Zimbabwe admitted into the United States on a B-1 immigration visa in 2001. He became a lawful permanent resident in 2006. In 2009, he was convicted of conspiracy and six counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns in a scheme that began in 2004 and ended in 2008. According to the indictment, Muyaba was personally responsible for fraudulently claimed business losses and tax credits totaling $112,227. The district court found the scheme resulted in a loss to the * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Case: 18-60598 Document: 00515300321 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/06/2020 No. 18-60598 IRS of $2,661,060. Muyaba objected to being held accountable for the loss attributable to the whole scheme, instead claiming that he was responsible only for a loss of “approximately $86,000.” The district court sentenced him to 120 months in prison and two years of supervised release and ordered cooperation with the IRS in collecting outstanding taxes. The Fifth Circuit affirmed Muyaba’s sentence. United States v. Mudekunye, 646 F.3d 281, 291 (5th Cir. 2011). In 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took custody of Muyaba and served him with a Notice to Appear (NTA) for removal proceedings. ICE notified him in the NTA that he was an alien convicted of an aggravated felony. See 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). The definition of aggravated felony includes “an offense that—involves fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victim or victims exceeds $10,000.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(M)(i); In the alternative, the immigration judge made a finding that Muyaba was removable because the six counts of aiding and abetting tax fraud each qualified as a crime of moral turpitude. The immigration judge recognized Muyaba was personally liable for $112,227 in fraudulent business losses and tax credits and that the scheme defrauded the IRS of $2,903,842. The immigration judge made a factual finding that Muyaba was convicted of an offense involving fraud in which the loss exceeded $10,000. That finding meant the fraud was an aggravated felony and he was eligible for deportation. The Board of Immigration Appeals denied the appeal. Muyaba presents four arguments in this appeal. We find each meritless. Our court recently rejected Muyaba’s first argument in Pierre-Paul v. Barr, 930 F.3d 684 (5th Cir. 2019). The Supreme Court issued a narrow holding in Pereira v. ...

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