United States v. Sepetu

── United States v. Sepetu ── Court: Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Date: May 15, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit Nos. 24-1650, 24-1821 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. SUNNA SEPETU and NAFIS QUAYE, Defendants, Appellants. APPEALS FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE [Hon. Samantha D. Elliot, U.S. District Judge] Before Gelpí, Thompson, and Dunlap, Circuit Judges. Emma Quinn-Judge, with whom Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP, was on brief, for Appellant Sunna Sepetu. Zainabu Rumala, with whom Federal Public Defender Office, was on brief, for Appellant Nafis Quaye. Anna Z. Krasinski, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Erin Creegan, United States Attorney, was on brief, for Appellee. May 15, 2026  DUNLAP, Circuit Judge. Defendant-Appellant Nafis Quaye and Defendant-Appellant Sunna Sepetu (collectively "Defendants") appeal from the district court's final judgment entering guilty verdicts against them for money laundering conspiracy. The evidence adduced at trial showed that Quaye engaged in a years-long pattern of using his friends and family to register businesses and create bank accounts on his behalf, including an account operated by Sepetu. Quaye and Sepetu facilitated the transfer of illegally obtained funds in and out of these accounts under the guise of a business that purportedly bought goods domestically and shipped them to customers overseas. Both Defendants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions, as well as the jury instructions issued by the district court on the issues of willful blindness and good faith. Sepetu separately challenges the propriety of the government's collective references to Defendants in its opening and closing arguments and the district court's calculation of her sentencing guidelines. We reject Defendants' arguments and affirm both their convictions and Sepetu's sentence. I. Over a six-year period, Quaye directed his friends and family to register four business entities -- Easy Soft, Ken and K, - 2 - Micro Syncnetic, and Logitech1 -- and open various bank accounts for the businesses on his behalf. Quaye regularly facilitated large wire transfers in and out of those accounts, purportedly as part of a business operation in which he bought cars, computers, and other goods in the United States and shipped them to customers overseas. Quaye represented that he entered this line of business after a trusted Ghanaian community member introduced him to a man named Samuel Ansah, whom Quaye believed to be a buyer in Ghana and owner of La Vita Ghana and SpeedPrints Ghana. Quaye, however, never received payment directly from Ansah. Quaye's operation followed a distinct pattern: He would direct friends or family members to hold themselves out as owners of a business entity, and would then direct them to sign blank checks and make cash withdrawals on his behalf from the business bank accounts. When a bank would close an account or when he would otherwise choose to close an account, Quaye would rely on his friends and family to open more new accounts on his behalf so that he could continue his operation. As part of this operation and at Quaye's request, Sepetu -- who was romantically involved with Quaye -- registered 1 Initially, Logitech was also named Easy Soft, but was later renamed Logitech. For ease and avoidance of con