Fourth Circuit Holds Virginia Embezzlement Is Not Categorically a Crime of Fraud or Deceit

The Fourth Circuit has granted a petition for review filed by a Honduran lawful permanent resident found removable based on a Virginia embezzlement conviction that the agency classified as an aggravated felony involving fraud or deceit.

Applying the categorical approach, the Court held that Virginia's embezzlement statute does not require any fraudulent or deceitful conduct by its elements, since a person can embezzle openly, without concealment or misrepresentation. The Court rejected the government's reliance on prior dicta suggesting embezzlement generally involves dishonesty, explaining that Virginia's statute criminalizes only the wrongful taking of property already in the defendant's possession. The Court vacated the removal order and remanded to the agency.

The full text of Ramos v. Blanche can be found here: https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/252037.P.pdf

Ninth Circuit finds that Embezzlement is a Serious Nonpolitical Crime

The Ninth Circuit has determined that a Chinese national involved in a scheme to embezzle public funds had committed a serious nonpolitical crime. “A large financial crime in the nature of theft, such as embezzlement, is normally a serious nonpolitical crime. To rebut this presumption, the applicant must ‘identify . . . facts showing that his offense had some ‘political aspect’ or ‘political objective.’” The court found that even if the prosecution of this crime was politically motivated, the crime itself was motivated solely by economic greed, and had no political angle to it. However, the court remanded for further consideration of the petitioner’s Convention Against Torture claim, finding that evidence suggests that Christians face torture in China.

The full text of Guan v. Barr can be found here:

http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/05/30/17-71966.pdf