Filed: Jun. 26, 2018
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: Case: 17-10721 Document: 00514529754 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/26/2018 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 17-10721 FILED Summary Calendar June 26, 2018 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. ATUL NANDA; JITEN JAY NANDA, Defendants-Appellants Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:13-CR-65-1 USDC No. 3:13-CR-65-2 Before DAVIS, COSTA, and ENGELHARD
Summary: Case: 17-10721 Document: 00514529754 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/26/2018 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 17-10721 FILED Summary Calendar June 26, 2018 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. ATUL NANDA; JITEN JAY NANDA, Defendants-Appellants Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:13-CR-65-1 USDC No. 3:13-CR-65-2 Before DAVIS, COSTA, and ENGELHARDT..
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Case: 17-10721 Document: 00514529754 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/26/2018
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 17-10721 FILED
Summary Calendar June 26, 2018
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
ATUL NANDA; JITEN JAY NANDA,
Defendants-Appellants
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 3:13-CR-65-1
USDC No. 3:13-CR-65-2
Before DAVIS, COSTA, and ENGELHARDT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Atul Nanda and Jiten “Jay” Nanda (the Nandas) appeal the denial of
their motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence under Federal
Rule of Criminal Procedure 33. On direct appeal, we affirmed the Nandas’
convictions for crimes arising from a conspiracy to commit visa fraud. United
States v. Nanda,
867 F.3d 522, 525 (5th Cir. 2017), cert. denied, 2018 WL
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 17-10721 Document: 00514529754 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/26/2018
No. 17-10721
1317816 (Apr. 16, 2018) (No. 17-8114). The new-trial motion was filed while
the direct appeal was pending.
We review the denial of a new-trial motion for abuse of discretion.
United States v. Pratt,
807 F.3d 641, 645 (5th Cir. 2015). “Questions of law are
reviewed de novo, but the district court’s findings of fact must be upheld unless
they are clearly erroneous.”
Id. (internal quotation marks and citation
omitted). Rule 33 motions are not favored.
Id.
The Nandas argue that the Government promised two testifying
codefendants that they would not be immediately deported and that the
promise was not revealed until sentencing, when the Government sought to
modify a restitution award to preclude the codefendants’ convictions from
qualifying as “aggravated felonies.” The Nandas also assert that the
codefendants testified falsely, with the Government’s knowledge, that they had
not been promised a particular immigration result.
The codefendants’ plea agreements stated that the Government could
not promise a particular immigration result. Moreover, prior to trial, the
Government accurately disclosed the intent of the agreements. Thus, the
district court did not clearly err by concluding that there was no undisclosed
promise. Further, the district court did not clearly err by finding that the
codefendants did not testify falsely as to their understanding of their plea
agreements, even if that understanding may have been incomplete in some
respects. See
Pratt, 807 F.3d at 645; see also United States v. Dunnigan,
507
U.S. 87, 94 (1993); United States v. Simpson,
741 F.3d 539, 555 (5th Cir. 2014).
Finally, even were we to assume there was undisclosed impeachment evidence
or false testimony, there is no reasonable likelihood that it affected the verdict.
See United States v. Stanford,
823 F.3d 814, 838-39 (5th Cir. 2016).
The judgment is AFFIRMED.
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