United States v. Deanah Cheboss, No. 22-2617 (8th Cir. 2023)
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Defendant appealed her conviction for having knowingly procured her naturalization contrary to law in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1425(a). Defendant made several false statements in procuring her naturalization. The issues on appeal are whether the government met its burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the false statements were material, as that element of the Section 1425(a) offense was defined in Maslenjak v. United States, 582 U.S. 335 (2017), and whether they were made “under oath.”
The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that Defendant argued that the false statements were immaterial because they did not necessarily establish she lacked good moral character. The court disagreed, reasoning that 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(f) provides that “no person shall be regarded as, or found to be, a person of good moral character who” gives false testimony to obtain an immigration benefit in violation of Section 1101(f)(6). Moreover, Defendant argued that “false testimony” is limited to false statements given verbally under oath. As the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the false statements in her N-400 Application for Naturalization were given orally and under oath, the government failed to present sufficient evidence, and we “need not even address materiality.” The court explained that the district court t was free to find the testimony of a USCIS supervisory officer more credible than the contrary opinion of Defendant’s expert, who admitted she had never attended a naturalization interview in Des Moines. Accordingly, the court concluded that a reasonable factfinder could find she acted to obtain immigration benefits for her spouse.
Court Description: [Loken, Author, with Shepherd and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. The false statements defendant made to procure her naturalization in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1425(a) were material as that element of the offense has been defined in Maslenjak v. United States, 582 U.S. 335 (2017) and were made under oath, see 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1015(a); with respect to defendant's claim she had an independent defense to the Sec. 1425(a) charge because, despite whatever lies she may have told, she still legitimately qualified for naturalization must be rejected, because in giving false testimony to obtain an immigration benefit, defendant showed she lacked the good moral character required to qualify for naturalization.
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