United States v. Mariano Pangelinan

MEMORANDUM

Mariano Koyama Pangelinan entered a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 . On appeal, he claims that the district court erred in ordering him to pay restitution to 99 work visa applicants deemed to have been victims of his fraudulent acts. We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm in part and vacate in part.

1. On de novo review, we affirm the district court’s determination that 99 aliens were victims of Pangelinan’s fraud. See United States v. De La Fuente, 353 F.3d 766, 771 (9th Cir. 2003); United States v. Sanga, 967 F.2d 1332, 1334 (9th Cir. 1992).' To qualify as a victim, a person must be “directly and proximately harmed” by the defendant’s conduct. 18 U.S.C. § 3663 (a)(2).

The record shows that, for a fee of $810.00, Pangelinan filed work visa applications with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services on behalf of 99 aliens whom he purported to employ. To create the appearance that the employment relationship was legitimate, he required applicants to sign illusory employment contracts with the business entity he owned and…