U.S. v. Mosavi, No. 97-6326

• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
• Writing for the Court: Before BLACK and HULL, Circuit Judges, and FAY; PER CURIAM
• Citation: 138 F.3d 1365
• Parties: 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 1238 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Seyed Ali MOSAVI, Defendant-Appellant. Non-Argument Calendar.
• Docket Number: No. 97-6326
• Decision Date: 14 April 1998

Page 1365

138 F.3d 1365 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 1238 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Seyed Ali MOSAVI, Defendant-Appellant. No. 97-6326 Non-Argument Calendar. United States Court of Appeals,
Eleventh Circuit. April 14, 1998.

Mark B. Flake, Huntsville, AL, for Defendant-Appellant.

C. Douglas Jones, U.S. Atty., Shirley T. McCarty and G. Douglas Jones, Assts. U.S. Attys., Birmingham, AL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

Before BLACK and HULL, Circuit Judges, and FAY, Senior Circuit Judge.

PER CURIAM:

Seyed Ali Mosavi, the defendant below, appeals the denial by the district court of his Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) Motion for Relief from Judgment, in which he sought to have set aside a criminal forfeiture imposed as part of a criminal sentence entered on March 29, 1991. The defendant raises two arguments on appeal: (1) that the forfeiture of property from his brother, Seyed Jomeeh Mosavi ("Jomeeh"), violated the defendant's Fifth Amendment right to due process because the property forfeited in fact belonged to the defendant and not his brother, and (2) that no legitimate basis exists for the government's forfeiture of $25,936.23 from the defendant as part of his 1991 sentence. Finding that the district court lacked the subject matter jurisdiction necessary to provide Rule 60(b) relief, we affirm the order of the district court denying the defendant's motion.

I.

On March 27, 1991, the defendant, represented by counsel, pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama to one count of illegally structuring financial transactions in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324(3), and one count of food stamp fraud in violation of 7 U.S.C. § 2024(b). The defendant's brother and co-defendant, Jomeeh, pled guilty to similar charges at the same time. On March 29, 1991, the district court sentenced the defendant and Jomeeh. Both the defendant and his brother received sentences that mandated the forfeiture of certain real properties held separately by the defendant and Jomeeh. In accordance with the terms of defendant's plea agreement with the government, the defendant later paid the cash equivalent of

Page 1366

$25,936.23 plus accumulated interest in lieu of real property in satisfaction of the forfeiture portion of his sentence. In satisfaction of the forfeiture provisions of his sentence, Jomeeh forfeited his grocery store business located in...