19-4110 United States v. Zhong In the United States Court of Appeals FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT AUGUST TERM 2020 No. 19-4110 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. DAN ZHONG, Defendant-Appellant.* On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York ARGUED: MARCH 9, 2021 DECIDED: FEBRUARY 23, 2022 Before: SACK, WESLEY, and MENASHI, Circuit Judges. Dan Zhong appeals his conviction, after a jury trial, on five counts: (1) forced-labor conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1594(b); (2) forced labor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1589(a) and (b); (3) concealing passports and immigration documents in connection * The Clerk of Court is directed to amend the caption as set forth above. with forced labor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1592(a); (4) alien smuggling conspiracy, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I); and (5) visa fraud conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. These convictions related to Zhong’s leading role in a Chinese construction company named Rilin in the years 2010 to 2016. Zhong contends that the district court committed evidentiary errors that played a role in the jury’s decision to convict him. We agree in part. The district court committed evidentiary errors that may well have affected the jury’s decision to convict Zhong on the three forced-labor counts. Those errors, however, were unconnected to Zhong’s other two counts. Zhong also contends that the government presented insufficient evidence to allow a jury to convict him on the alien smuggling count. We disagree. Accordingly, we AFFIRM Zhong’s convictions on the alien smuggling and visa fraud counts, VACATE Zhong’s convictions on the three forced-labor counts, and REMAND for a new trial on the forced-labor counts consistent with this opinion. Additionally, while our vacatur of the forced-labor convictions requires us to REMAND for resentencing for the visa fraud count, we AFFIRM Zhong’s alien smuggling sentence. ALEXANDER A. SOLOMON, Assistant United States Attorney (David C. James, Jo Ann M. Navickas, Ian C. Richardson, Craig R. Heeren, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, on the brief), for Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn, New York, for Appellee. 2 ALEXANDRA A.E. SHAPIRO (Daniel J. O’Neill, Julian S. Brod, on the brief), Shapiro Arato Bach LLP, New York, New York, for Defendant-Appellant. MENASHI, Circuit Judge: Dan Zhong appeals his conviction in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Donnelly, J.), after a jury trial, on five counts: (1) forced-labor conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1594(b); (2) forced labor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1589(a) and (b); (3) concealing passports and immigration documents (“document servitude”) in connection with forced labor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1592(a); (4) alien smuggling conspiracy, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I); and (5) visa fraud conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. These convictions related to Zhong’s role as a leading figure in a Chinese construction company named Rilin in the years 2010 to 2016. Zhong contends that the district court committed …
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