United States v. Sarwat ( 2003 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 03-4228
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
MUHAMMAD SARWAT,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Malcolm J. Howard, District
Judge. (CR-02-264)
Submitted: August 25, 2003 Decided: October 10, 2003
Before LUTTIG, TRAXLER, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Rudolph A. Ashton, III, MCCOTTER, ASHTON & SMITH, P.A., New Bern,
North Carolina, for Appellant. Frank D. Whitney, United States
Attorney, Anne M. Hayes, Assistant United States Attorney,
Christine Witcover Dean, Assistant United States Attorney, Raleigh,
North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Muhammad Sarwat appeals his conviction and sentence of five
months’ imprisonment following his guilty plea to fraud and misuse
of visas, permits, and other documents, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 1546(b) (2000). Sarwat argues the district court abused its
discretion by denying his motion to withdraw the guilty plea.
Finding no reversible error, we affirm.
We review the denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea for
abuse of discretion. United States v. Ubakanma, 215 F.3d 421, 424
(4th Cir. 2000). Sarwat must present a “fair and just” reason for
withdrawing his guilty plea. United States v. Moore, 931 F.2d 245,
248 (4th Cir. 1991). Based on the factors set forth in Moore, we
find the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the
motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
Accordingly, we affirm Sarwat’s conviction. We dispense with
oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument
would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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