Melvin Clifford Winestock v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Petitioner, a visitor from Canada, has been ordered deported for his conviction of dealing with counterfeit obligations, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 473 . The conviction was for an offense committed within five years of his entry into this county. The sole question is whether violation of this statute constituted a “crime involving moral turpitude” and was thus a deportable offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1251 (a)(4).

Count II of the indictment, to which petitioner pleaded guilty, charges that he “sold, transferred and delivered counterfeit securities of the United States, that is 896 $100 Federal Reserve Notes . . . with the intent that the same be passed, published or used as true and genuine . . . .”

A crime having as an element the intent to defraud is clearly a crime involving moral turpitude. Jordan v. deGeorge, 341 U.S. 223 , 71 S.Ct. 703 , 95 L.Ed. 886 (1951). The intent to defraud may be explicit in the statutory definition of the crime, e. g. Section 472 of Title 18, which deals with passing, uttering, publishing, mailing or possessing counterfeit obligations “with intent to defraud.” Violation of Section 472 is a crime involving moral turpitude. Lozano-Giron v. Immigration…