Restitution order not limited to fraud victims who filed proofs of loss.

Byline: Eric T. Berkman

A man convicted of running an immigration fraud scheme that bilked more than 300 people out of nearly $600,000 could be ordered to pay restitution to all putative victims, not just those who submitted proofs of loss to the government, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

The defendant argued that evidence with respect to putative victims who had not spoken to government investigators was insufficient for them to be included in the order, which was entered pursuant to the federal Mandatory Victims Restitution Act.

But the 1st Circuit disagreed.

"The law is transparently clear that '[a]s long as the court's order reasonably responds to some reliable evidence, no more is exigible,'" Senior Judge Bruce M. Selya wrote, quoting the 1st Circuit's 2013 decision inUnited States v. Sanchez-Maldonado.

"In this instance, the government proffered a detailed spreadsheet, describing its extensive efforts to trace and contact all of the persons defrauded over the sixteen-month duration of the scheme," Selya continued. "The government's information, coupled with the appellant's own admissions, supplied more than a modicum of reliable evidence."

The 1st Circuit also rejected the defendant's argument that he was denied a full and fair opportunity to cross-examine the Department of Homeland Security agent investigating the case and that the U.S. District Court lacked jurisdiction to enter its final restitution order while his appeal of an earlier, initial order was pending.

The 19-page decision is U.S. v. Naphaeng, Lawyers Weekly No. 01-211-18. The full text of the ruling can be found here.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office, which represented the government, did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did the defendant's appellate counsel, John T. Ouderkirk Jr. of Westerly.

Fraudulent scheme

In 2014, defendant Nimon Naphaeng, a citizen of Thailand living in Wakefield, began advertising on the internet and in flyers he posted in Thai restaurants around the U.S. that he could help Thai nationals with their tax returns and obtain Employment Authorization Document cards for them. The EAD cards would make them eligible to work in the U.S. and potentially to obtain Social Security numbers, driver's licenses and other benefits.

In exchange, he charged fees ranging from $1,500 to $2,500 for each person who responded to his ad.

Between August 2014 and December 2015, Naphaeng obtained EADs for the applicants by filing...