Case: 17-20541 Document: 00515055128 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/30/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED No. 17-20541 July 30, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff–Appellee, versus JUSTICE DANIEL; LETRISHIA A. ANDREWS, also known as Letrishia Ann Andrews, also known as Letrishia Andrews Daniel, Defendants–Appellants. * * * * * No. 17-20543 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff–Appellee, versus FOLARIN H. ALABI, also known as Folarin Henry Alabi, also known as Henry, Defendant–Appellant. Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Case: 17-20541 Document: 00515055128 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/30/2019 No. 17-20541 Before HIGGINBOTHAM, SMITH, and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges. JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge: Folarin Alabi, Justice Daniel, and Letrishia Andrews were convicted of crimes related to their involvement in a marriage-fraud conspiracy. They appeal, raising issues regarding their convictions and sentences. We affirm. I. Co-conspirators recruited U.S. citizens to marry Nigerian nationals so that the Nigerians could obtain legal immigration status. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“CIS”) uncovered the conspiracy and, together with the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), investigated. CIS Officers Anna Lam and Marva Hebert reviewed the files for Daniel and others and determined that their marriages to U.S. citizens were fraudu- lent. The investigation included examination of immigration petitions, applications, documentation, pictures, when and with whom the alien entered the United States, when the couple got married, when they applied for immi- gration benefits, their ages, whether they were living together, and whether the couple had children together or with someone else during the marriage. DHS Agent Ramon Oyegbola conducted a second investigation and agreed that the marriages were fraudulent, forming that judgment after surveilling the suspected individuals’ residences, examining documents, and interviewing the suspects and other connected people. Alabi was charged with two counts of aiding and abetting marriage fraud in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1325(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. The count that proceeded to trial charged that Alabi had aided and abetted the marriage of Daniel for the purpose of evading U.S. immigration law. Daniel was charged with one count of marriage fraud in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1325(c). Andrews was 2 Case: 17-20541 Document: 00515055128 Page: 3 Date Filed: 07/30/2019 No. 17-20541 charged with one count of aiding and abetting marriage fraud in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1325(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 2, one count of theft of government money in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641, and two counts of making false statements related to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3). All three defendants were also charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1325(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 371. II. After a joint trial, the jury convicted on all counts. The district court sentenced Alabi to 18 months’ imprisonment and one year of supervised release (“SR”); and Andrews to 24 months’ imprisonment, three years of SR, ...
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