United States v. Chahla
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
752 F.3d 939 (2014)
- Written by Heather Whittemore, JD
Facts
Mowafak, Antoun, and Fadi Chahla (defendants) were brothers from Syria. To obtain favorable immigration statuses, the Chahlas fraudulently married women who were United States citizens. The Chahlas were charged with one count of conspiring to commit offenses against and defraud the United States (plaintiff) and with six counts of unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization, two for each brother. At trial, the district court explained to the jury that proof of multiple conspiracies is not automatically proof of an overarching conspiracy. Rather, the jury needed to find that a single conspiracy existed to convict the Chahlas of the one count they were charged with. The jury convicted the Chahlas of the conspiracy. The Chahlas appealed their conspiracy conviction, arguing that the evidence presented at trial established three separate conspiracies, one for each marriage, instead of a single, overarching conspiracy.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Martin, J.)
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