UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-4367
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
RAHEEL RAFIQ,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Greenville. Henry F. Floyd, District Judge.
(CR-02-1187)
Submitted: October 27, 2004 Decided: November 24, 2004
Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Christopher J. Moran, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant.
Kevin Frank McDonald, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY,
Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Raheel Rafiq was convicted by a jury for knowingly
entering a marriage for the purpose of evading a provision of the
immigration laws, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1325(c) (2000). The
district court sentenced him to six months of imprisonment followed
by three years of supervised release. Rafiq’s counsel filed an
appeal brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967),
raising for the court’s consideration the sufficiency of the
evidence to establish that offense but stating that, in his view,
there were no meritorious grounds for appeal. Rafiq has been
informed of his right to file a pro se supplemental brief, but he
has not done so. We affirm Rafiq’s conviction and sentence.
This court reviews de novo the district court’s decision
to deny a Fed. R. Crim. P. 29 motion for acquittal. United
States v. Ryan-Webster, 353 F.3d 353, 359 (4th Cir. 2003). Where,
as here, the motion was based on insufficient evidence, “[t]he
verdict of a jury must be sustained if there is substantial
evidence, taking the view most favorable to the Government, to
support it.” Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942).
This court “ha[s] defined ‘substantial evidence,’ in the context of
a criminal action, as that evidence which ‘a reasonable finder of
fact could accept as adequate and sufficient to support a
conclusion of a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’”
United States v. Newsome, 322 F.3d 328, 333 (4th Cir. 2003)
- 2 -
(quoting United States v. Burgos, 94 F.3d 849, 862-63 (4th Cir.
1996) (en banc)).
In order to sustain a conviction for marriage fraud under
8 U.S.C. § 1325(c), the Government must prove beyond a reasonable
doubt that (1) the alien knowingly entered into a marriage; (2) the
marriage was entered into for the purpose of evading a provision of
the immigration law; and (3) the alien knew or had reason to know
of the immigration laws. United States v. Chowdhury, 169 F.3d 402,
405-06 (6th Cir. 1999); United States v. Ali, __ F. Supp. 2d __,
__, 2004 WL 1557357, at *3 (D. Kan. July 9, 2004). A review of the
evidence presented at trial convinces us that the Government
established these elements.
As required by Anders, we have reviewed the record and
have found no meritorious issues for appeal. We therefore affirm
Rafiq’s conviction and sentence. The court requires that counsel
inform his client, in writing, of his right to petition the Supreme
Court of the United States for further review. If the client
requests that a petition be filed, but counsel believes that such
a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in this court
for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel’s motion must
state that a copy thereof was served on the client. We dispense
with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument
would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED