Phan appeals to 9th Circuit

Businessman David Trung Quoc Phan is appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit his eight-month prison sentence after being convicted for his role in a scheme to bring Bangladeshi men to Saipan on promises of jobs and green cards in exchange for cash.

Phan notified the U.S. District Court for the NMI on Wednesday about his appeal. He wants the Ninth Circuit to reverse District Court for the NMI designated Judge John Coughenour’s judgment issued last Friday, March 16. The notice did not indicate Phan’s grounds for the appeal.

The U.S. government had recommended a sentence of 30 months in prison for Phan but the judge sentenced him to just eight months.

Shortly after the sentencing hearing last March 9, his lawyer, Steven Pixley, said they are happy with the shorter sentence, that the judge considered all the factors and found that Phan’s role was minimal as he never went to Bangladesh and that it was very clear he was not involved in money transactions.

Pixley said Phan, however, has an option to appeal.

Last March 9, Coughenour sentenced the 54-year-old Phan to eight months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release.

Coughenour did not require Phan to pay restitution to the victims because he determined that the businessman has no direct involvement in collecting recruitment fees from them.

Phan was ordered to pay $600 in special assessment fee.

Last Oct. 18, the jury found Phan guilty of two counts of mail fraud, three counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting, and one count of fraud and misuse of visas and permits.

Phan’s co-defendant, Muksedur Rahman, was found guilty of two counts of mail fraud and three counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting. He was sentenced to 48 months imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release.

A third defendant, Mohammed Rafiqul Islam, was found guilty of one count of mail fraud and three counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting. He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Islam, together with Rahman, was ordered to pay $188,426 in restitution to the victims. He is also appealing to the Ninth Circuit. Islam and Rahman are brothers.

Phan’s fiancée, Analyn Nunez, and Rahman’s wife, Shahinur Akter, were acquitted. Defendant Zeaur Rahman Dalu pleaded guilty, but he has yet to be sentenced.

According to the U.S. government, each of the victims paid over $10,000, but when they arrived on Saipan in April of 2016, they were not given work as promised.
The government named five victims, all Bangladeshi men.