Phan seeks acquittal, wants a new trial

David Trung Quoc Phan wants to be acquitted of charges that he and two other co-defendants brought Bangladeshi men to Saipan on false promises of good-paying jobs and green cards in exchange for cash.

In the alternative, Phan wants a new trial.

Phan, though counsel Steven P. Pixley, asserted that the evidence offered by the U.S. government was not enough to convict him.

Last Oct. 18, a federal court 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.

Pixley said the U.S. government’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.

He said Phan never traveled to Bangladesh and that the U.S. government failed to present enough evidence that Phan participated in a scheme to defraud.

With respect to the conviction of three counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting, Pixley said these convictions involve Tazizul Islam, Rafiqul Islam, and Abu Bakkar Beg.

Pixley said this criminal offense requires the U.S. to present facts sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt demonstrating the solicitation, recruitment or hiring of a person outside of the U.S. with the intent to defraud for the purpose of employment in the U.S.

Pixley said the U.S. government failed to present any competent evidence that Phan intended to defraud these three workers.

In fact, he said, the evidence showed that Phan provided jobs to these workers at TBK Auto Cares.

Pixley said it wasn’t until after the three workers’ arrival on Saipan on April 21, 2016, that Phan learned that they were unskilled and that they had lied about their qualifications.

These justify a new trial, Pixley said.

He said the verdict was against the weight of the evidence and the trial was permeated by false testimony of the alleged Bangladeshi “victims,” making the trial fundamentally unfair, in violation of due process.

Each of the alleged “victims” lied to the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and submitted false documents, he said.

Phan’s co-defendants Muksedur Rahman and Md. Rafiqul Islam, were also convicted. Rahman earlier filed the same motions.

U.S. District Court for the NMI designated Judge John C. Coughenour, who presided over the trial, set the sentencing for March 9, 2018.

In the U.S. government’s opposition to Rahman’s motions, assistant U.S. attorney James J. Benedetto said there was enough evidence for the jury to convict Rahman.

Phan’s fiancée, Analyn Nunez, and Rahman’s wife, Shahinur Akter, were acquitted. Another defendant, Zeaur Rahman Dalu, already pleaded guilty.