Opinion ID: 4013709
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Denial of Motion to Withdraw the Plea

Text: “We review a district courtʹs denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea for abuse of discretion and any findings of fact in connection with that decision for clear error.” United States v. Juncal, 245 F.3d 166, 170‐71 (2d Cir. 2001). Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B), a defendant may withdraw a plea of guilty after it is accepted, but before sentencing, only if the defendant can show a “fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal.” The defendant bears the burden of showing “that there are valid grounds for withdrawal.” United States v. Couto, 311 F.3d 179, 185 (2d Cir. 2002), abrogated on other grounds by Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010). “In general, to determine whether the defendant has shown a ‘fair and just reason’ to justify withdrawal, a district court considers, inter alia: (1) whether the defendant has asserted his or her legal innocence in the motion to withdraw the guilty plea; (2) the amount of time that has elapsed between the 17 plea and the motion . . .; and (3) whether the government would be prejudiced by a withdrawal of the plea.” United States v. Schmidt, 373 F.3d 100, 102‐03 (2d Cir. 2004). “Courts may also look to whether the defendant has raised a significant question about the voluntariness of the original plea.” Id. at 103 (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted). Rivernider first argues that his guilty plea was not supported by an adequate factual basis because his statements at the plea colloquy fail to establish that he had the requisite mens rea to be convicted of wire fraud. Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(f), a district court must assure itself “that the conduct to which the defendant admits is in fact an offense under the statutory provision under which he is pleading guilty.” United States v. Maher, 108 F.3d 1513, 1524 (2d Cir. 1997). To this end, a district court “may rely on [the] defendant’s own admissions, information from the government, or other information appropriate to the specific case.” United States v. Andrades, 169 F.3d 131, 136 (2d Cir. 1999). A conviction for wire fraud requires that the defendant possess “fraudulent intent,” which in turns requires proof that the “defendant[] contemplate[] some actual harm or injury to the[] victims.” United States v. Novak, 443 F.3d 150, 156 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis in 18 original). “Actual harm” includes the intentional withholding of material information from investors and lenders. See United States v. Karro, 257 F.3d 112, 118 (2d Cir. 2001). The record contains sufficient evidence to establish a factual basis for finding that Rivernider intended to withhold material information. In addition to the evidence from the trial, including the testimony of victims who were unaware of the fraudulent nature of the NMB and real estate schemes and the testimony of Wade, a co‐conspirator, Rivernider signed a detailed statement of offense conduct describing both schemes. In that statement, Rivernider admitted to knowingly and willfully participat[ing] in the obtaining of monies from NMB clients in that he knew clients were led to believe that almost all of their monthly payments . . . were being made from realized returns on already‐actively paying investments when they were not, thereby specifically intending to deceive NMB clients in that he knew the clients would be placing their funds at a risk of loss more substantial than the risk represented to them, and he took their funds without insuring the clients were properly informed. G.A. 89. With respect to the real estate scheme, Rivernider admitted in his statement of offense conduct that he 19 caused to be represented in loan applications and other documents provided to the lenders a number of material misrepresentations, including, (i) the income earned by the respective borrower, which was routinely overstated; and (ii) the true earnest money payments coming from the borrower, which were routinely fronted by NMB funds at the direction of Rivernider. G.A. 90. Those admissions, combined with the trial evidence and Rivernider’s statements at the plea colloquy, establish a factual basis for finding that Rivernider possessed fraudulent intent with respect to both schemes. Rivernider’s argument to the contrary is based on a misunderstanding of the mens rea element required for a wire fraud conviction. Although certain statements made by Rivernider at the plea colloquy suggest that he did not subjectively intend to harm his victims,3 such intent is not required for a conviction for wire fraud; it is sufficient that the defendant intentionally withheld information from investors. See, e.g., Karro, 257 F.3d at 118; United States v. Chandler, 98 F.3d 711, 716 (2d Cir. 1996). Considering the record as a whole, there 3 For example, Rivernider, when asked by the court what made him guilty, stated that he “didnʹt properly do my proper due diligence and ensure that what people believed was happening was happening.” G.A. 105. When the court asked Rivernider if he knew that the NMB investors believed they would be getting 10% investment returns, Rivernider responded by stating that he “did everything [he could] to make sure that that was the case.” Id. at 106. 20 can be no doubt that Rivernider intentionally withheld material information from investors and lenders. Rivernider also argues that the plea colloquy is deficient because his plea was was not knowing and voluntary. However, sworn testimony given during a plea colloquy “carries such a strong presumption of accuracy that a district court does not, absent a substantial reason to find otherwise, abuse its discretion in discrediting later self‐serving and contradictory testimony as to whether a plea was knowingly and intelligently made.” Juncal, 245 F.3d at 171; see also United States v. Hernandez, 242 F.3d 110, 112 (2d Cir. 2001). Prior to accepting Rivernider’s plea, the district court conducted an extensive plea colloquy. The court asked Rivernider a number of questions about his mental state and understanding of the proceedings. Nothing in Rivernider’s answers indicated that he misunderstood the proceedings or was under any pressure to plead guilty. For example, the court asked Rivernider whether he had been treated for any mental illness “to determine whether [he] had a condition that could affect [his] ability to understand what’s going on, to think about what’s going on, and communicate effectively with [his] counsel and [the court],” to which Rivernider responded that “we should be fine.” G.A. 96. The court also ascertained that 21 Rivernider’s “mind [was] clear,” that he was “capable of making important decisions” on the day of the plea hearing, and that he did not have any difficulty understanding the court. Id. Furthermore, Rivernider affirmed that no one had made any promises, threatened him, or put pressure on him to change his plea, and stated that he believed it was in his best interests to change his plea. Rivernider was unequivocal at the plea colloquy in stating that he was capable of pleading guilty and understood the consequences of such a plea. In short, there is no evidence in the record to support Rivernider’s contention that he was not competent to plead guilty. Finally, Rivernider contends on appeal that his guilty plea was coerced by counsel. His fifty‐three page motion to withdraw his plea below, however, contains only two brief conclusory references to any possible coercion affecting his guilty plea. Specifically, Rivernider claimed that (1) Bergenn told Rivernider over the course of two and half days that Rivernider had to plead guilty because he had “a serious brain deficiency, brain damage,” G.A. 642, and (2) Bergenn refused to go back to trial after he received the expert’s report indicating that Rivernider had executive functioning deficiencies. Those two conclusory passages are insufficient to overcome the “strong presumption of accuracy,” 22 Juncal, 245 F.3d at 171, that is afforded to Rivernider’s sworn testimony offered at the plea colloquy. Although the record before us does not establish that Bergenn coerced Rivernider into pleading guilty (and subsequently refused to assist Rivernider in withdrawing his plea because of the resulting conflict of interest), to the extent that Rivernider alleges an ineffective‐assistance claim predicated on these allegations, he is free to raise such a claim as part of a habeas petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Courts of appeals are generally “reluctant to address ineffectiveness claims on direct review” because “the constitutional sufficiency of counsel’s performance is usually unripe for seasoned retrospection” on direct review. United States v. Salameh, 152 F.3d 88, 160 (2d Cir. 1998). When faced with such a challenge, an appellate court may “(1) decline to hear the claim, permitting the appellant to raise the issue as part of a subsequent petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255; (2) remand the claim to the district court for necessary factfinding; or (3) decide the claim on the record before [the appellate court].” United States v. Morris, 350 F.3d 32, 39 (2d Cir. 2003). Where, as here, the record is not sufficiently developed to allow us to review an ineffective‐assistance claim, we decline to consider any such claim at this stage and dismiss that claim without prejudice to the filing of a § 2255 petition on that ground. 23