Ezeigwe v. Attorney General of the United States

491 F. App'x 337
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedJuly 19, 2012
DocketNo. 11-2842
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 491 F. App'x 337 (Ezeigwe v. Attorney General of the United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ezeigwe v. Attorney General of the United States, 491 F. App'x 337 (3d Cir. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

Petitioner Kennedy Ndu Ezeigwe, proceeding pro se, seeks review of a determination by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA” or “Board”) that his New York state court conviction for identity theft constitutes an aggravated felony, thereby rendering him ineligible for cancellation of removal. For the reasons that follow, we will deny the petition for review.

I.

Ezeigwe, a native and citizen of Nigeria, entered the United States in 1985. He became a lawful permanent resident in 1993 after he married his wife, a United States citizen. In 1991, Ezeigwe was convicted in New York state court of possession of a forged instrument in violation of New York Penal Law § 170.25. In 2008, Ezeigwe pled guilty to identity theft in violation of New York Penal Law § 190.79(2). Under that provision, a person is guilty of identity theft in the second degree “when he or she knowingly and with the intent to defraud assumes the identity of another person by presenting himself or herself as that other person” and “causes financial loss to such person or to another person or persons in an aggregate amount that exceeds five hundred dollars.” N.Y. Penal § 190.79(2).

According to the plea colloquy from the 2008 case, the District Attorney, who was joined by Ezeigwe’s criminal attorney, explained to the judge that Ezeigwe could plead guilty to a single count of identity theft on the condition that he waive appeal, pay “restitution of $100,000 by civil judgment,” and receive a sentence of one to three years of incarceration. (See Administrative Record (“A.R.”) at 656-57.) Following the plea hearing, a probation officer completed a presentence report for the criminal court. The first page of the report, under the heading “SENTENCE,” states: “Identity Theft 2, 1-3 yr., Restitution $100,000.” (Id. at 841.) The report explains that Ezeigwe opened accounts at various Washington Mutual Bank branches in Nassau County and, using the identity of victims from California and New York, “negotiated checks that were later returned as being forged, altered and counterfeit.” (Id. at 842.) The report concludes that “Washington Mutual Bank sustained a loss of $119,573.37 due to this [339]*339fraudulent activity in Nassau County.” (Id.) Thereafter, Ezeigwe was sentenced to one to three years of imprisonment and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution.

The Department of Homeland Security subsequently charged Ezeigwe with re-movability under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), as an alien convicted of two crimes involving moral turpitude not arising out of a single scheme of criminal conduct. As a result of the identity theft conviction, Ezeigwe was also charged under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), as an alien convicted of an aggravated felony as defined in Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) sections 101(a)(43)(G) (theft offense for which term of imprisonment is at least one year) and 101(a)(4S)(M)(i) (fraud/deceit offense involving victim loss exceeding $10,000).

Ezeigwe conceded his removability under section 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii) and applied for discretionary cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). The Government argued that Ezeigwe was ineligible for cancellation of removal because his identity theft conviction constituted an aggravated felony. Ezeigwe argued that his conviction was not an aggravated felony because it did not involve a loss of over $10,000 to the victim in his 2008 criminal case.

At an administrative hearing, the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) found that Ezeigwe was ineligible for cancellation of removal because the sentencing record demonstrated that his identity theft conviction constituted an aggravated felony. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). Specifically, the IJ determined that Ezeigwe’s conviction met the requirements of both sections 101(a)(43)(G) and 101(a)(43)(M)(i). In finding that the monetary threshold had been satisfied for purposes of § 101(a)(43)(M)(i), the IJ relied on the presentence report, which calculated the actual loss to be $119,573.37, and the order of restitution requiring Ez-eigwe to pay $100,000. In a June 2011 decision, the BIA dismissed Ezeigwe’s administrative appeal and affirmed the IJ’s finding that Ezeigwe’s identity theft conviction qualified as an aggravated felony. Ezeigwe timely petitioned for review of the Board’s decision.

II.

We have jurisdiction over the final order of removal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a). We exercise plenary review over Ezeigwe’s argument that he was not convicted of an aggravated felony. Jeune v. Att’y Gen., 476 F.3d 199, 201 (3d Cir.2007). “Where, as here, the BIA adopts and affirms the decision of the IJ, as well as provides its own reasoning for its decision, the Court reviews both the decisions of the IJ and the BIA.” Hashmi v. Att’y Gen., 531 F.3d 256, 259 (3d Cir.2008).

III.

In his petition for review, Ezeigwe first argues that his identity theft conviction does not constitute an aggravated felony because the amount of loss to the victim did not exceed $10,000 and cites Nugent v. Attorney General, 367 F.3d 162 (3d Cir.2004), in support of the contention. In Nugent, we held that a conviction under 18 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. § 3922, Pennsylvania’s theft by deception statute, did not constitute an aggravated felony because it involved both “theft” and “fraud and deceit,” and thus had to meet the requirements of § 101(a)(43)(M)(i) in addition to meeting the requirements of § 101(a)(43)(G). Id. at 174-75. The alien’s offense also had to qualify under D § 101(a)(43)(M)(i) because “Congress’ intent was for both G and M(i) to apply to an ‘offense’ involving ‘theft’ and ‘fraud or deceit,’ and thus the requirements of both provisions must be fulfilled for such an offense to qualify as an aggravated felony for purposes of the INA.” Id. at 176.

[340]*340We agree with the BIA that Ezeigwe is not entitled to relief under Nugent. Here, there is no dispute that Ezeigwe’s identity-theft conviction was a fraud conviction requiring the agency to determine whether the victim’s loss exceeded $10,000. Although Ezeigwe argues that the loss in his case did not exceed that amount, Nugent is not helpful to him in that regard.

Next, Ezeigwe argues that the IJ and BIA improperly considered the amount of restitution ordered in his case — $100,000— to determine that the loss amount exceeded $10,000. Specifically, he claims that because restitution was in the form of a civil judgment, it was not a part of the criminal judgment and should not have been considered.

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491 F. App'x 337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ezeigwe-v-attorney-general-of-the-united-states-ca3-2012.