United States v. Kuyoro

── United States v. Kuyoro ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: May 15, 2026 Category: Non Direct Criminal Case: 25-20002 Document: 97-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/15/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals ____________ Fifth Circuit FILED No. 25-20002 May 15, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Clerk United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellant, versus Sade Kuyoro, Defendant—Appellee. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:21-CR-222-2 ______________________________ Before Haynes, Higginson, and Ho, Circuit Judges. Stephen A. Higginson, Circuit Judge: The Government charged Sade Kuyoro with disaster relief fraud and wire fraud following FEMA’s award of approximately $33,000 to Kuyoro after Hurricane Harvey. During trial, the Government discovered it had failed to disclose two pieces of evidence to the defense: (1) civil recoupment letters mailed to Kuyoro in 2020, and (2) an email to a third-party contractor who purportedly inspected the damaged property before FEMA awarded Kuyoro disaster relief. Kuyoro moved to dismiss the indictment on the basis that the late disclosures violated Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), and the district court dismissed the indictment without prejudice. We Case: 25-20002 Document: 97-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/15/2026 No. 25-20002 REVERSE the dismissal order and REMAND the case with instructions that the indictment be reinstated. 1 I In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Sade Kuyoro filed a FEMA disaster relief application claiming that her home, located at 5666 Howell Street, Unit C, in Houston, Texas, had sustained hurricane damage. To support her application, Kuyoro provided documentation indicating that she supported two dependents, a hotel receipt for a portion of the time she was allegedly displaced from her home, an automotive repair shop estimate for a vehicle allegedly damaged in the hurricane, a utility bill for 5666 Howell Street, and a utility bill for a rental property she allegedly lived in while displaced. Based on Kuyoro’s representations, FEMA provided her with $33,000 in disaster relief funds. After an investigation, the Government determined that Kuyoro’s application was fraudulent. The United States charged Kuyoro with one count of disaster fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1040(a)(1) and two counts of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Kuyoro pleaded not guilty and proceeded to trial. A. The Government’s Case in Chief At trial, the Government presented evidence that the Howell Street residence listed in Kuyoro’s FEMA application had been fabricated. Delfina Gutierrez testified that she had lived at 5666 Howell Street for 20 years and that no “Unit C” had ever existed. Gutierrez stated that 5666 Howell Street sustained minimal damage from the hurricane. She further testified that she did not know Kuyoro. _____________________ 1 Kuyoro’s motion to supplement the record on appeal is GRANTED. 2 Case: 25-20002 Document: 97-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/15/2026 No. 25-20002 The Government also presented