NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

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No. 19-1943

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LENA LASHER,

Appellant

v.

DEA AGENT THOMAS POPOWICH, Individually and in his official capacity;

DEA AGENT GERMANO, Individually and in his official capacity;

DEA AGENT MATTHEW MURPHY, (Clifton, NJ Police Task Force) 

Individually and in his official capacity; DEA AGENT JOHN SHERIDAN, Individually 

and in his capacity; DEA AGENT ANTHONY J. REGO, Individually and in his 

capacity; DEA AGENT STEVEN FISCHER, Individually and his official capacity;

DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (DEA)

____________________________________

On Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of New Jersey

(D.N.J. Civil Action No. 2:17-cv-12061)

District Judge: Honorable Esther Salas

____________________________________

Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)

October 11, 2022

Before: KRAUSE, BIBAS, and SCIRICA, Circuit Judges

(Opinion filed: October 12, 2022)

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OPINION*

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* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not 

constitute binding precedent.
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PER CURIAM

Pro se appellant Lena Lasher appeals the dismissal of her claims alleging 

constitutional violations pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal

Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). For the reasons that follow, we will affirm the 

District Court’s judgment.

In 2015, following a ten-day jury trial, Lasher was convicted of several offenses 

relating to mail and wire fraud conspiracies involving misbranded drugs. She was 

sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. The United States Court of Appeals for the 

Second Circuit affirmed her convictions, and the Supreme Court denied her petition for a 

writ of certiorari. Lasher has since sought various forms of relief from her convictions, 

filing, among other things, a habeas petition, malpractice actions, and numerous other 

cases and appeals.

In 2017, Lasher initiated a lawsuit in the District Court against various federal 

agents and the agency involved in her criminal case. The District Court granted Lasher’s 

request to proceed in forma pauperis, screened her complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915(e)(2)(B), and dismissed it sua sponte. The District Court concluded that Lasher 

failed to state a claim because all her claims appeared barred by the favorable-termination 

rule of Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). Lasher timely appealed.

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise plenary review of 

the District Court’s sua sponte dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) for failure to 
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state a claim. See Allah v. Seiverling, 229 F.3d 220, 223 (3d Cir. 2000); see also Garrett 

v. Murphy, 17 F.4th 419, 424 (3d Cir. 2021) (“A suit dismissed under Heck is dismissed 

for failure to state a claim.”). In our review, “we accept all factual allegations as true 

[and] construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Warren Gen. 

Hosp. v. Amgen Inc., 643 F.3d 77, 84 (3d Cir. 2011) (citation omitted).

We agree with the District Court that Lasher’s claims were barred by the favorable 

termination rule in Heck. “In Heck, the Supreme Court held that a [42 U.S.C.] § 1983 

suit should be dismissed when ‘a judgment in favor of the plaintiff would necessarily 

imply the invalidity of his conviction or sentence . . . unless the plaintiff can demonstrate 

that the conviction or sentence has already been invalidated.’” Long v. Atl. City Police 

Dep’t, 670 F.3d 436, 447 (3d Cir. 2012) (quoting Heck, 512 U.S. at 487)); see also

Garrett, 17 F.4th at 426 (“Heck’s favorable-termination requirement applies to Bivens

actions.”).

Lasher alleged that she was wrongfully convicted in 2015 based on discriminatory 

treatment, false testimony, and fabricated evidence. She claimed that certain defendants 

suppressed exculpatory evidence and provided perjured testimony to frame her for crimes 

she did not commit. However, if these claims were successful, they would necessarily 

imply the invalidity of Lasher’s convictions. Because Lasher has not shown that her 

convictions have been set aside, she cannot bring these claims at this time. See Curry v. 

Yachera, 835 F.3d 373, 379 (3d Cir. 2016).
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For these reasons, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court.