NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ________________ No. 20-1470 ________________ YERBOL ALSHINBAYEV, a/k/a Yerbol Kaundykovich Akshinbayev, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ________________ On Petition for Review of a Final Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Immigration Judge: Jason L. Pope (No. A215-991-751) ________________ Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) September 21, 2020 Before: AMBRO, PORTER, and ROTH, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: February 17, 2021) ________________ OPINION * ________________ AMBRO, Circuit Judge Yerbol Alshinbayev, a native and citizen of Kazakhstan, came to the United States in 2018 on a B-2 visitor visa and he overstayed. In 2019 he received a notice to appear stating that he was removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1)(B). He filed an application requesting protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and other relief, which the Immigration Judge (IJ) denied. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) adopted and affirmed the IJ’s decision, and Alshinbayev petitions us for review. He argues he is eligible for CAT relief because he will be tortured by his former boss and prison guards in Kazakhstan if he is returned and convicted of the crimes with which he was charged there. As substantial evidence supports the IJ and BIA’s determination that he is not likely to be tortured in Kazakhstan, we deny his petition for review. I. Factual and Procedural Background Until 2017 Alshinbayev worked as a sales manager and translator at ACCM, a real estate development firm that builds apartment complexes in Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana), Kazakhstan. He accompanied his boss, Yuri Smogulov, on international trips to meet with investors and financial institutions. Alshinbayev even invested $300,000 of his family’s money in ACCM’s projects. His brother, Yerman, also worked as a driver for * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. 2 and assistant to Smogulov. When hundreds of the apartments under construction were years overdue, Smogulov was arrested and charged with financial fraud. Alshinbayev testified before the IJ that he had at least ten encounters with clients who beat him, shook him, and threatened to burn his car as a result of ACCM’s failure to finish the apartments. He also recalled receiving threatening text messages from Smogulov from jail. During this time, the Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs subpoenaed him to testify against his boss, which he refused to do unless he received witness protections. In 2018 Smogulov’s wife hired a hitman to have Alshinbayev’s brother Yerman killed in what appeared to be an attempt to blame him for ACCM’s criminal activities and stop him from testifying against Smogulov. The hitman turned out to be an undercover police officer, and Smogulov’s wife was arrested for attempted murder and sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment. Around this time, Smogulov testified that Alshinbayev and Yerman were responsible for the fraud, transforming Alshinbayev from a witness to a suspect. His brother was subsequently arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 6-7 years’ imprisonment. In ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals