United States v. Dalalli
| Decision Date | 07 June 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. 15-1835,15-1835 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MOHAMAD ALI DALALLI, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION
File Name: 16a0301n.06
JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. At the end of the first day of his jury trial, Mohamad Ali Dalalli pled guilty to all five counts of his pending indictment, though he had no plea bargain with the government. Several months later, but well before sentencing, Dalalli's court-appointed attorney sought to withdraw. The district court denied the request. After another several months passed, Dalalli moved to withdraw his guilty plea. The district court also denied this request. The district court then sentenced Dalalli to 27 months' imprisonment and revoked his naturalized citizenship. On appeal, Dalalli asserts error in the district court's denial of the motions to withdraw as counsel and to withdraw his guilty plea, its finding of a sufficient factual basis for his guilty plea, and in the reasonableness of his sentence. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the district court's judgment in all respects.
In a series of indictments beginning on November 7, 2013, Dalalli and his wife Rima Alame were alleged to have defrauded the United States by receiving a variety of welfare benefits under false pretenses. In the Third Superseding Indictment, filed on October 8, 2014, Count 1 alleged that Dalalli and Alame engaged in a conspiracy to obtain benefits to which they were not entitled by making false representations that they had low income and negligible assets. Counts 2, 3, and 4 alleged theft of public money from the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS"), and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") in excess of $1000 in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 641 and 2. Count 5 alleged that Dalalli had become a naturalized citizen through fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1425(b).
Shortly after the first indictment was filed, the court granted Dalalli's request for counsel and appointed Gary Springstead pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act. After several continuances based on Dalalli's need for a translator, voluminous records, and the several superseding indictments, Dalalli's case proceeded to trial on January 13, 2015.1
The morning of trial, the court was informed that Dalalli wished to plead guilty to all of the charges pending against him, though there was no plea deal offer from the government. The district court expressed concern about accepting a guilty plea the morning of trial, given that there was no agreement with the government and that the jury venire had already assembled. Springstead informed the court that Dalalli wished to plead guilty to help his wife with her case, even though there were no guarantees. The court again expressed concern because Dalalli'shope that a guilty plea would help his wife was part of no deal, and it decided to proceed with the first morning of trial to give Dalalli additional time to consider his options. If Dalalli still wished to plead guilty after jury selection and the beginning of trial, according to the court, then it would consider the matter at that time.
That afternoon, Dalalli again indicated that he wanted to plead guilty to all five counts in the Third Superseding Indictment. The court did its best to confirm that Dalalli wished to plead guilty, stating, for example: DE 181, Guilty Plea Tr., Page ID 1033. The court further explained that "even if you plead guilty today, that doesn't guarantee anything for your wife." Id. After Dalalli was sworn, the district court conducted a thorough guilty plea colloquy, beginning with ensuring that Dalalli could understand the court through his translator.
The court repeatedly probed why Dalalli was choosing to plead guilty, given that he had no plea agreement. At one point, the court classified Dalalli's decision to plead guilty as "the worst possible thing that could happen to you at the end of trial." Id. at 1037. When questioned, Dalalli explained that he hoped his guilty plea would result in lenient treatment for his wife. In response, the court emphasized several times that Dalalli's decision to plead guilty "has nothing to do with what happens to [his] wife," and that "that government could come back at another date and try the very same case against her that they started to try against [Dalalli]." Id. at 1038. When Dalalli stated that "[t]he same way I help the government by admitting the guilt, the same they are going to help my wife," the court confirmed that this was his "own hope, . . . own judgment, . . . own guess," and called it "a gamble basically." Id. at 1039. In addition, Dalalliadmitted that his decision was not based on anything told to him by the government or Springstead.
Before accepting Dalalli's guilty plea, the court explained the elements of each charge that the government would have to prove at trial beyond a reasonable doubt, as well as the maximum possible period of imprisonment, fine, and period of supervised release for each count. To be guilty of a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641, as charged in Counts 2-4, according to the court, the government would have to, first, prove that Dalalli improperly took money from the agencies as charged in the Third Superseding Indictment. Second, the government would "have to show that you got it fraudulently, that is you weren't supposed to get it, you didn't qualify for it, but you got it anyway." DE 181, Guilty Plea Tr., Page ID 1046. The third element required the government to prove that Dalalli improperly took the government's money, not by accident or mistake, but by deliberate fraud. The court further explained that Count 5 required the mandatory revocation of Dalalli's citizenship, which might subject him to deportation.
The court warned Dalalli that he could face up to ten years' imprisonment for four counts and up to five years' imprisonment for the remaining count, making the worst case scenario forty-five years' imprisonment. The court explained that prior to sentencing, Dalalli would be interviewed by a probation officer, who would aid the court in calculating his Guidelines range. Only then did the court accept Dalalli's guilty plea to each count charged in the Third Superseding Indictment.
As a factual basis, Dalalli admitted that he had $30,000 in a bank account in Lebanon as early as 2006, when he applied for various benefits. The court asked Dalalli whether it was his money, and Dalalli agreed that it was. The court asked Dalalli whether he "understood if [he] told the government on the forms that [he] had $30,000 in the bank, [he] realized [thegovernment] w[as]n't going to give [him] benefits," to which Dalalli responded, "Correct." Id. at 1065. Dalalli admitted that Alame knew about the bank account, she possessed undisclosed jewelry, and she knew that Dalalli had bought a grocery store which took in cash receipts. Dalalli also admitted that he had signed a statement to the Immigration Service in June 2013 that he resided at his former family residence, but that he had moved out at some earlier time. Both the government and Springstead indicated that they were satisfied with the factual basis for the plea.
As is customary, Dalalli's probation officer prepared a presentence investigation report ("PSR") prior to sentencing, which reported that Dalalli had unlawfully obtained $126,739 in federal welfare benefits by concealing assets. During a March 18, 2015 meeting to prepare the PSR with his probation officer, Springstead, and a translator, Dalalli claimed that he was not guilty of the conduct to which he had pled guilty two months earlier. At this meeting, according to the PSR, "Dalalli alleged his 'lawyer is working for the government'" and "'forced' him 'to plead guilty rather than go to trial.'" DE 153, PSR, Page ID 823. Dalalli apparently continued that Id.
Shortly afterwards, on March 24, 2015, Springstead filed a motion to withdraw as counsel. Springstead asserted that "there was a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship" during the March 18, 2015 meeting, based on Dalalli's allegations that "the government forced him to plead guilty, [Springstead] worked for the government (implying [Springstead] had thegovernment's best interest in mind, not his); he never wanted a jury trial and [Springstead] pursued a jury trial against his wishes; and, that, generally, he was dissatisfied with [Springstead]." DE 129, Mot. Withdraw Counsel, Page ID 641. Dalalli also informed Springstead that he wanted to hire another attorney.
At an April 13, 2015, hearing on this motion, the district court questioned Dalalli about whether and why he wanted a new attorney. Dalalli's first response was, "Can I represent myself, Your Honor?" DE 178, Mot. Withdraw Counsel Tr., Page ID 995. The court responded that it would start with whether Dalalli wanted a new lawyer. The court never revisited the issue of self-representation, nor did Dalalli raise it again until this appeal.
Dalalli thereafter represented that he had already hired a new attorney, although no one appeared to represent him. Dalalli then admitted that he did not know the full name of the attorney and that Dalalli had not spoken with him directly. In response...
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