Benedetto: Ample evidence supports Phan conviction

There was enough evidence for the jury to find David Trung Quoc Phan guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, according to assistant U.S. attorney James J. Benedetto.

In the U.S. government’s opposition to Phan’s motions for acquittal, Benedetto said the court gave the witnesses instruction detailing the factors bearing on believability. He filed the motion in federal court on Monday.

Whether the victims lied, erred in perception or recollection, or misunderstood the interpreters, the jury resolved those issues in favor of the prosecution, he added.

A federal jury found Phan guilty last Oct. 18 of mail fraud, fraud in foreign labor contracting, and fraud and misuse of visas and permits.

Phan’s co-defendants, Muksedur Rahman and Md. Rafiqul Islam, were also convicted.

Phan’s fiancée, Analyn Nunez, and Rahman’s wife, Shahinur Akter, were acquitted.

Another defendant, Zeaur Rahman Dalu, has already pleaded guilty.

Phan, through Steven Pixley, now wants to be acquitted and for the charges to be dismissed. Pixley asserted that the evidence of the U.S. government was not enough to convict his client.

Pixley said the prosecution’s three witnesses had no evidence that Phan intended to hire these Bangladeshi workers, nor did the workers testify that they paid Phan any recruitment fee or that he had recruited them.

In the U.S. government’s opposition, Benedetto said there was sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Phan participated in a scheme to defraud the witnesses.

Citing an example, Benedetto said that government witness Tazizul Islam testified that when he complained to Phan about not having work, Phan told him that he was only the sponsor to bring him to Saipan and Rahman was supposed to give him work.

Benedetto said Tazizul also testified that he later spoke with Phan’s fiancée, Nunez, and that she confirmed that United Brothers had a contract with Rahman, and that Rahman was supposed to get Tazizul a job.

Phan is the president/manager of United Brothers, which owns TBK Auto Cares.

Benedetto said Phan also told Tazizul that Rahman was supposed to pay him (Phan) $700 for each worker, but that he had only received $1,500 for all five Bangladeshi workers.

The prosecutor noted that the government’s witness, Rafiqul Islam, also testified that when he confronted Phan about not being provided work, Phan said his job was only to bring the workers to Saipan.

He said witness Belayet Hossain also testified that Phan admitted that his contract was to bring the workers to Saipan, not to provide them jobs.

Benedetto said witness Abu Bakkar Beg also testified that when he and other workers spoke to Phan, the latter admitted that Rahman was supposed to pay him $1,500 to sponsor six of Rahman’s “relatives” into Saipan.

The testimonies of other witness corroborated the story of the victims, Benedetto said.

He said the jury never seriously considered the defense theory that the victims fabricated accusations against their employers to get T visas.

While several of the workers may have misled consular officials about their knowledge of the jobs on their contracts, Benedetto said they also testified that they had raised concerns about their contracts that showed different jobs than what they had been promised, and that the defendants assured them that the contracts were “just a formality” to get them in.

He said the victims’ testimony about why they lied was understandable and credible.

“The jury reasonably concluded that the victims’ admissions enhanced—not diminished—their credibility, due to the possibility of criminal sanctions,” he said.