United States Court of Appeals

For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 19-1477

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United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Luis Gonzalez-Esparsa

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant

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Appeal from United States District Court 

for the Northern District of Iowa - Dubuque

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Submitted: January 16, 2020

Filed: April 22, 2020

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Before BENTON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.

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GRASZ, Circuit Judge.

Luis Gonzalez-Esparsa was convicted of unlawful use of an identification

document in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a), and misuse of a social security number

in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 408(a)(7)(B). The district court1 sentenced GonzalezEsparsa to five months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release. 

1The Honorable C.J. Williams, District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa. 
Gonzalez-Esparsa appealed both the sufficiency of the evidence, and the substantive

reasonableness of the five-month sentence. However, Gonzalez-Esparsa concedes his

challenge to his sentence is now moot. Only his challenges to his conviction are

before us on appeal. We affirm. 

I. Background

Gonzalez-Esparsa, a native and citizen of Mexico, has never been lawfully

present in the United States. In 2018, he was hired by Midwest Concrete Inc. in

Peosta, Iowa. As part of his employment onboarding, Gonzalez-Esparsa was required

to complete a Form I-9, W-4 tax forms, and an employment application. The I-9,

along with other employment paperwork, was completed using a permanent resident

card with an Alien Registration Number. Additionally, the W-4 was completed using

a social security number, representing that this was the number Gonzalez-Esparsa was

assigned by the Commissioner of Social Security. 

It was later determined the Alien Registration Number on the permanent

resident card did not belong to Gonzalez-Esparsa, but to a female from Mexico. The

social security number presented was also assigned to another person. 

Gonzalez-Esparsa’s use of the false permanent resident card and social security

number came to light after he was arrested for a different violation. After the arrest,

the county jail contacted Deportation Officer Billy Walker to release GonzalezEsparsa to him on an immigration detainer. Gonzalez-Esparsa admitted to Officer

Walker he was illegally present in the United States. Officer Walker initiated

removal proceedings, and in the process noticed Gonzalez-Esparsa was wearing a

Midwest Concrete shirt. As Officer Walker began to piece together that GonzalezEsparsa had been in the United States since about 2000, but was not in the

immigration system or a lawful resident, he decided to contact Midwest Concrete to

inquire about Gonzalez-Esparsa’s status with the company. 

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Midwest Concrete provided Officer Walker with Gonzalez-Esparsa’s I-9, state

and federal W-4s, and copies of the permanent resident card and social security card

used for the I-9. Officer Walker soon determined the permanent resident card and

social security card presented to Midwest Concrete were not lawfully issued to

Gonzalez-Esparsa. Gonzalez-Esparsa was then charged with unlawful use of an

identification document and misuse of a social security number in violation of federal

laws. 

During the jury trial, after the close of the government’s evidence, GonzalezEsparsa moved for judgment of acquittal on both counts, claiming there was

insufficient evidence to convict him of the charged crimes. Regarding Count One,

the use of the false permanent resident card, Gonzalez-Esparsa argued there was

insufficient evidence he was the person who placed the permanent resident card in

Midwest Concrete’s shop mailbox during his employment onboarding, or that he had

knowledge the card itself was “forged, counterfeited, or unlawfully obtained.” As to

Count Two, the use of the false social security number, Gonzalez-Esparsa argued that

because he never discussed his employment eligibility with Midwest Concrete, there

was insufficient evidence he intended to deceive his employer. The district court

denied the motion and the jury found Gonzalez-Esparsa guilty on both counts. 

II. Analysis

We review de novo the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a conviction,

“considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and accepting

all reasonable inferences that may be drawn therefrom in favor of the verdict.” 

United States v. Ellis, 817 F.3d 570, 573 (8th Cir. 2016). This standard is “highly

deferential.” Id. (quoting United States v. Kirk, 528 F.3d 1102, 1111 (8th Cir. 2008)). 

We will reverse only if we conclude “no reasonable jury could have found the

defendant guilty.” Id. 

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A. Unlawful Use of Identification Document

A conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a) requires proof beyond a reasonable

doubt that a defendant: (1) “knowingly used documents prescribed by statute or

regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the

United States;” and (2) “knew the documents had been forged, counterfeited, falsely

made, or unlawfully obtained.” United States v. Machorro-Xochicale, 840 F.3d 545,

548 (8th Cir. 2016). 

The government presented sufficient evidence of both elements at trial. When

Gonzalez-Esparsa was hired by Midwest Concrete he was given the I-9, W-4, and an

employment application and was specifically told to fill out the paperwork, return it

to the office, and provide two forms of identification. Specifically, he was told to

return the paperwork to the mailbox in the shop. The I-9, W-4, and employment

paperwork were retrieved from the mailbox — including a permanent resident card

and social security card, each identifying Gonzalez-Esparsa. His application

indicated Gonzalez-Esparsa was eligible for employment in the United States. And

as we have previously held, a permanent resident card and a social security card are

both “documents prescribed by statute or regulation as evidence of authorized stay

or employment in the United States.” Machorro-Xochicale, 840 F.3d at 548–49. 

Based on this evidence, a reasonable juror could find the government met its

burden of proving the first element required for a violation of § 1546(a). The

circumstantial evidence indicates the employment paperwork was completed using

fraudulent identification documents that are prescribed by statute. The paperwork,

along with the fraudulent social security card and permanent resident card bearing

Gonzalez-Esparsa’s photo, were placed in the employee mailbox, which was

accessible only to employees on the work crew, and was otherwise in a secured shop. 

In light of this evidence, it was reasonable for a jury to conclude it was Gonzalez-

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Esparsa who knowingly used these prescribed documents in his employment

paperwork. 

There was also sufficient evidence to satisfy the second element of § 1546(a),

that Gonzalez-Esparsa knew the documents were forged, counterfeited, falsely made,

or unlawfully obtained. Gonzalez-Esparsa freely admitted to Officer Walker that he

was a citizen of Mexico and was not legally present in the United States. He never

claimed to be a lawful permanent resident nor to have ever come in contact with the

United States immigration system since arriving in the country. There was evidence

Gonzalez-Esparsa was never issued an alien registration number, and that the

government does not issue illegal aliens lawful permanent resident cards. 

Considering this evidence, a reasonable juror could conclude Gonzalez-Esparsa knew

the permanent resident card bearing his name and photograph had been forged,

counterfeited, falsely made, or unlawfully obtained when he used it to secure

employment. 

B. Misuse of Social Security Card

A conviction under 42 U.S.C. § 408(a)(7)(B), for misuse of a social security

card, requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant: “(1) for any purpose,

(2) with the intent to deceive, (3) represented a social security number to be his or

another person’s, (4) which representation was false.” United States v. Porter, 409

F.3d 910, 915 (8th Cir. 2005). The evidence shows Gonzalez-Esparsa knowingly

represented on his W-4 a social security number belonging to another person. 

Gonzalez-Esparsa also gave this social security number to Midwest Concrete in his

employment application. A reasonable juror could conclude Gonzalez-Esparsa made

the false representation regarding his purported social security number in order to

deceive Midwest Concrete in order to obtain a job with the company, satisfying the

elements of § 408(a)(7)(B). 

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III. Conclusion

Because the government presented sufficient evidence from which a reasonable

jury could find Gonzalez-Esparsa guilty, we affirm. 

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