Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
No. 14-4000
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Baltimore.
Catherine C. Blake, Chief District
Judge. (1:12-cr-00393-CCB-1)
Submitted:
June 9, 2015
AGEE,
Decided:
Circuit
Judges,
and
HAMILTON,
Senior
PER CURIAM:
Makushamari Gozo was convicted by a jury of 18 counts of
filing false and fictitious claims in violation of 18 U.S.C.
287 (2012), and five counts of bank fraud in violation of 18
U.S.C. 1344 (2012).
He appeals.
under
acquittal.
2015).
Fed.
R.
Crim.
P.
29
for
judgment
of
jury
verdict
must
be
sustained
if
there
is
substantial
United States v.
marks
omitted).
reasonable
Substantial
finder
of
fact
evidence
could
is
accept
evidence
as
that
adequate
and
United
States v. Ashley, 606 F.3d 135, 138 (4th Cir. 2010) (internal
quotation marks omitted).
A violation of 18 U.S.C. 287 consists of two elements:
(1) making or presenting a claim to any agency of the United
States, and (2) knowing that such claim is false, fictitious, or
fraudulent.
The
government
presented
evidence
showing
that
Gozo
filed false personal and excise tax returns with the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
Gozo did not earn, on false claims for tax credits, and on the
3
The government
introduced more than two dozen tax returns showing that Gozo
requested over $22 million in tax refunds, both personal and
excise,
from
the
IRS.
Gozo
received
over
$376,000
of
paper
companies
as
part
of
his
scheme
which
the
Gozo
did
not
during
the
administratively
time
frame
detained
in
by
question,
immigration
Gozo
was
In
either
authorities,
or
to
support
finding
that
Gozo
acted
with
fraudulent
in
declining
evidentiary
overturn
rulings
an
irrational.
to
admit
for
Defense
abuse
evidentiary
of
ruling
Exhibit
discretion
that
is
6.
We
review
and
will
only
arbitrary
and
Defense
Exhibit
were
self-authenticating
under
Fed.
R.
This
court
requires
that
counsel
inform
Gozo
in
but
frivolous,
counsel
then
believes
counsel
may
that
move
such
this
petition
court
for
would
be
leave
to
and
materials
legal
before
contentions
are
adequately
this
and
argument
court
presented
would
not
in
the
aid
the
decisional process.
AFFIRMED