United States v. Geoffry Kouevi, 698 F.3d 126

Kouevi appeals his conviction for conspiracy to commit visa fraud and visa fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a).
He contends the first paragraph of § 1546(a) does not criminalize possession or use of authentic visas obtained by fraud.
The government alleged a scheme in Togo (2001–2005) to obtain authentic diversity visas for numerous applicants through fraud with co-conspirator Afolabi.
Kouevi coordinated false document preparation, coached applicants for embassy interviews, and accompanied them to interviews in Togo.
Sister (Afolabi) allegedly paid for some applicants’ expenses and procured visas used to immigrate to the United States; Kouevi later aided in obtaining his own visa.
Nine witnesses testified about applications, interviews, and observations linking Afolabi and Kouevi to the fraud; Kouevi was severed from co-defendants prior to trial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Does § 1546(a) paragraph 1 cover authentic documents obtained by fraud?	Kouevi argues the first paragraph only covers forged documents.	Kouevi contends the first paragraph does not reach authentic documents obtained by fraud.	Affirmed; first paragraph includes authentic documents obtained by fraud.

Campos-Serrano, 404 U.S. 293 (U.S. 1971) (statutory scope discussed; not controlling on the entire reach of § 1546(a))
Krstic, 558 F.3d 1010 (9th Cir. 2009) (possession of authentic document procured by fraud can violate § 1546(a) paragraph 1)
Moskal, 498 U.S. 103 (U.S. 1990) (falsely made encompasses genuine documents containing false information)
Uvalle-Patricio, 478 F.3d 699 (5th Cir. 2007) (first paragraph concerns forged documents; not determinative here)
Ryan-Webster, 353 F.3d 353 (4th Cir. 2003) (discusses scope of § 1546(a) in context of documents containing false statements)
Osiemi, 980 F.2d 344 (5th Cir. 1993) (addressed scope of § 1546(a) prior to Krstic and Moskal discussion)