Indictment — U.S. v. Maurice Fayne (Dkt. 326, N.D. Ga. No. 1:20-cr-00228, GAND 278524)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia · No. 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL · Doc. 326 · 2023-10-25 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

. 
AO 243 (Rev. 01/15) 
MOTION UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 2255 TO VACATE, SET ASIDE, OR CORRECT 
SENTENCE BY A PERSON IN FEDERAL CUSTODY 
United States District Court 
I District 
Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) 
Name (under which you were convicted): 
Docket or Case No.: 
Page2 
Maurice Johnson Favne 
1 :20-cr-00228-M HC-JKL-1 
Place of Confinement: 
Prisoner No.: 
FTC Oklahoma City 
73197-019 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
Movant (include name under which convicted) 
V. 
MAURICE JOHNSON FAYNE 
MOTION 
FILED IN CLERK'S OFFICE 
U.S.O.C. • Atlanta 
1. 
(a) Name and location of court which entered the judgment of conviction you are challengingOCT 2 5 2023 
United States District Court 
Northern District of Georgia 
Atlanta Division 
KEVIN P WEIMER. Cieri< 
~~Clerk 
(b) Criminal docket or case number (if you know): 
1 :20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL-1 
--------------- ----
2. 
(a) Date of the judgment of conviction (if you know): 9/15/2021 
------------------
(b) Date of sentencing: 
9/14/2021 
----------------------------
3. 
Length of sentence: 210 Months 
--------------- ---------- ----
4. 
Nature of crime (all counts): 
Ct 1s: Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C.§§ 1343 and 1349; 
Ct 2s-4s: Wire Fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C.§§ 1343 and 2; 
Ct 5s: Bank Fraud, in violation of 18U.S.C.§§ 1344 and 2; and 
Ct 6s: False Statement to a Financial Institution, in violation of 18U.S.C.§§ 1014 and 2. 
5. 
(a) What was your plea? (Check one) 
(1) Not guilty □ 
(2) Guilty !ll'J 
(3) Nolo contendere (no contest) D 
6. 
7. 
8. 
(b) If you entered a guilty plea to one count or indictment, and a not guilty plea to another count or 
what did you plead guilty to and what did you plead not guilty to? 
Guilty on Counts 1 s through 6s of the Second Superseding Indictment. 
If you went to trial, what kind of trial did you have? (Check one) 
Did you testify at a pretrial hearing, trial, or post-trial hearing? 
Did you appeal from the judgment of conviction? 
Yes0 
Jury0 
YesO 
No□ 
Judge only D 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 1 of 14

.AO 243 (Rev. 01 /15) 
Page 3 
9. 
If you did appeal, answer the following: 
(a) Name of court: 
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 
(b) Docket or case number (if you know): 
USCA Case Number 21-13194-J 
-----------------------
( c) Result: Affirmed 
-----------------------------------
( d) Date of result (if you know): 
7/25/2022 
---------------------------
( e) Citation to the case (if you know): 
( f) Grounds raised: 
Maurice Fayne appealed from his 210-month sentence imposed after he pied guilty pursuant to a plea 
agreement that required the government to recommend a 151-month sentence. Fayne argued that the 
government breached the plea agreement at sentencing when it emphasized his criminal history and the details 
of his offense and failed to meaningfully argue for the sentence that it agreed to recommend. 
(g) Did you file a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court? 
Yes D 
If "Yes," answer the following: 
(1) Docket or case number (if you know): -----------------------
( 2) Result: _____________________________ _ 
(3) Date of result (if you know): 
(4) Citation to the case (if you know): 
(5) Grounds raised: 
10. 
Other than the direct appeals listed above, have you previously filed any other motions, petitions, or applications, 
concejf this jud~ent of conviction in any court? 
Yes ... · 
No l.!:J 
11. 
If your answer to Question 10 was "Yes," give the following information: 
(a) (1) Name of court: 
(2) Docket or case number (if you know): 
(3) Date of filing (if you know): 
(4) Nature of the proceeding: 
( 5) Grounds raised: 
--------------------------
------------------------------
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 2 of 14

AO 243 (Rev. 01 /15) 
Page4 
(6) Did you receive a hearing where evidence was given on your motion, petition, or application? 
YesD 
NoD 
(7) Result: -----------------------------------
( 8) Date of result (if you know): 
(b) If you filed any second motion, petition, or application, give the same information: 
(1) Name of court: --------------------------------
( 2) Docket of case nwnber (if you know): ------------------------
( 3) Date of filing (if you know): 
(4) Nature of the proceeding: 
( 5) Grounds raised: 
(6) Did you receive a hearing where evidence was given on your motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
NoO 
(7) Result: -----------------------------------
( 8) Date ofresult (if you know): 
( c) Did you appeal to a federal appellate court having jurisdiction over the action taken on your motion, petition, 
or application? 
(1) First petition: 
Yes I ____ j 
No D 
(2) Second petition: 
Yes D 
No D 
(d) If you did not appeal from the action on any motion, petition, or application, explain briefly why you did not: 
12. 
For this motion, state every ground on which you claim that you are being held in violation of the Constitution, 
laws, or treaties of the United States. Attach additional pages if you have more than four grounds. State the facts 
supporting each ground. 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 3 of 14

AO 243 (Rev. 01/15) 
Page 5 
GROUND ONE: 
Ineffective Assistance of Pretrial Counsel 
(a) Supporting facts (Do not argue or cite law. Just state the specific facts that support your claim.): 
Pretrial Counsel's failure to: 
(1) Communicate with Fayne and correctly inform him of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences of 
pleading guilty as opposed to proceeding to trial; 
(2) Conduct an adequate and independent pretrial investigation; and 
(3) Attempt to negotiate a favorable Plea Agreement deprived Fayne of effective assistance of pretrial counsel 
under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. 
A Memorandum of Law in Support will be forthcoming. 
(b) Direct Appeal of Ground One: 
(1) If you appealed from the judgment of conviction, did you raise this issue? 
YesO 
No0 
(2) If you did not raise this issue in your direct appeal, explain why: 
Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are not generally raised on direct appeal. 
( c) Post-Conviction Proceedings: 
(1) Did you raise this issue in any post-conviction motion, petition, or application? 
YesD 
No!v'J 
(2) If you answer to Question (c)(l) is "Yes," state: 
Type of motion or petition: 
Name and location of the court where the motion or petition was filed: 
Docket or case number (if you know): 
Date of the court's decision: 
Result ( attach a copy of the court's opinion or order, if available): 
(3) Did you receive a hea!glon your motion, petition, or application? 
YesD 
No 
' 
(4) Did you appeal from the denial of your motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
NoO 
( 5) If your answer to Question ( c )( 4) is "Yes," did you raise the issue in the appeal? 
YesO 
NoO 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 4 of 14

AO 243 (Rev. 01/15) 
Page6 
(6) If your answer to Question (c)( 4) is "Yes," state: 
Name and location of the court where the appeal was filed: 
Docket or case number (if you know): 
Date of the court's decision: 
Result (attach a copy of the court's opinion or order, if available): 
(7) If your answer to Question (c)(4) or Question (c)(5) is "No," explain why you did not appeal or raise this 
issue: 
GROUND TWO: 
Ineffective Assistance of Sentencing Counsel 
(a) Supporting facts (Do not argue or cite law. Just state the specific facts that support your claim.): 
Sentencing Counsel's failure to: 
(1) Review, discuss and explain the PSR to Fayne prior to the sentencing hearing; 
(2) File substantive objections to the PSR; and 
(3) Argue for mitigation of punishment and object to Fayne's sentence being substantively unreasonable deprived 
Wiley of effective assistance of sentencing counsel and a fair and just sentence. 
A Memorandum of Law in Support will be forthcoming. 
(b) Direct Appeal of Ground Two: 
(1) If you appealed from the judgment of conviction, did you raise this issue? 
YesO 
No0 
(2) If you did not raise this issue in your direct appeal, explain why: 
Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are not generally raised on direct appeal. 
(c) Post-Conviction Proceedings: 
(1) Did you raise this issue in any post-conviction motion, petition, or application? 
Yes D 
No0 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 5 of 14

AO 243 (Rev. 01/15) 
Page 7 
(2) If you answer to Question (c)(l) is "Yes," state: 
Type of motion or petition: 
Name and location of the court where the motion or petition was filed: 
Docket or case number (if you know): 
Date of the court's decision: 
Result ( attach a copy of the court's opinion or order, if available): 
(3) Did you receive a hearing on your motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
NoO 
(4) Did you appeal from the denial of your motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
NoO 
( 5) If your answer to Question ( c )( 4) is "Yes," did you raise the issue in the appeal? 
YesO 
NoO 
( 6) If your answer to Question ( c )( 4) is "Yes," state: 
Name and location of the court where the appeal was filed: 
Docket or case number (if you know): 
Date of the court's decision: 
Result (attach a copy of the court's opinion or order, if available): 
(7) If your answer to Question (c)(4) or Question (c)(5) is "No," explain why you did not appeal or raise this 
issue: 
GROUND THREE: N/A 
(a) Supporting facts (Do not argue or cite law. Just state the specific facts that support your claim.): 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 6 of 14

AO 243 ~ev. 01 /15) 
Page 8 
(b) Direct Appeal of Ground Three: 
(1) If you appealed from the judgment of conviction, did you raise this issue? 
YesO 
NoO 
(2) If you did not raise this issue in your direct appeal, explain why: 
(c) Post-Conviction Proceedings: 
(1) Did you raise this issue in any post-conviction motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
NoO 
(2) If you answer to Question (c)(l) is "Yes," state: 
Type of motion or petition: 
Name and location of the court where the motion or petition was filed: 
Docket or case number (if you know): 
Date of the court's decision: 
Result (attach a copy of the court's ooinion or order. if available): 
(3) Did you receive a hearing on your motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
No D 
(4) Did you appeal from the denial of your motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
NoO 
( 5) If your answer to Question ( c )( 4) is "Yes," did you raise the issue in the appeal? 
YesO 
NoO 
(6) If your answer to Question (c)(4) is ''Yes," state: 
Name and location of the court where the aooeal was filed: 
Docket or case number (if you know): 
Date of the court's decision: 
Result (attach a copy of the court's opinion or order, if available): 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 7 of 14

AO 243 (Rev. 01 /15) 
Page9 
(7) If your answer to Question (c)(4) or Question (c)(5) is "No," explain why you did not appeal or raise this 
issue: 
GROUND FOUR: 
NIA 
(a) Supporting facts (Do not argue or cite law. Just state the specific facts that support your claim.): 
(b) Direct Appeal of Ground Four: 
(I) If you appealed from the judgment of conviction, did you raise this issue? 
YesO 
NoO 
(2) If you did not raise this issue in your direct appeal, explain why: 
( c) Post-Conviction Proceedings: 
(1) Did you raise this issue in any post-conviction motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
NoO 
(2) If you answer to Question ( c )(1) is "Yes," state: 
Type of motion or petition: 
Name and location of the court where the motion or petition was filed: 
Docket or case number (if you know): 
Date of the court's decision: 
Result (attach a copy of the court's opinion or order, if available): 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 8 of 14

AO 243 (Rev. 01 /15) 
Page 10 
13. 
14. 
(3) Did you receive a bearing on your motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
NoO 
(4) Did you appeal from the denial of your motion, petition, or application? 
YesO 
NoO 
( 5) If your answer to Question ( c )( 4) is "Yes," did you raise the issue in the appeal? 
YesO 
NoO 
( 6) If your answer to Question ( c )( 4) is "Yes," state: 
Name and location of the court where the appeal was filed: 
Docket or case number (if you know): 
Date of the court's decision: 
Result (attach a copy of the court's opinion or order, if available): 
(7) If your answer to Question (c)(4) or Question (c)(5) is "No," explain why you did not appeal or raise this 
issue: 
Is there any ground in this motion that you have not previously presented in some federal court? If so, which 
ground or grounds have not been presented, and state your reasons for not presenting them: 
Do you have any motion, petition, or appeal now0ding (filed and not decided yet) in any court for the 
you are challenging? 
Yes D 
No ti' · 
If"Yes," state the name and location of the court, the docket or case number, the type of proceeding, and the 
issues raised. 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 9 of 14

AO 243 (Rev. 01/15) 
Page 11 
15. 
Give the name and address, if known, of each attorney who represented you in the following stages of the 
you are challenging: 
(a) At the preliminary hearing: 
Saraliene Durrett,Saraliene Smith Durrett, LLC,Suite 300, 1800 Peachtree Street, NE,Atlanta, GA 30309 
(b) At the arraignment and plea: 
Saraliene Durrett,Saraliene Smith Durrett, LLC,Suite 300, 1800 Peachtree Street, NE.Atlanta, GA 30309 
( c) At the trial: 
N/A 
( d) At sentencing: 
Saraliene Durrett,Saraliene Smith Durrett, LLC,Suite 300, 1800 Peachtree Street, NE.Atlanta, GA 30309 
( e) On appeal: 
Leigh Ann Webster.Strickland Webster, LLC -Atl,Suite 510-203,830 Glenwood Ave., S.E.,Atlanta, GA 30316 
(f) In any post-conviction proceeding;: 
N/A 
(g) On appeal from any ruling against you in a post-conviction proceeding: 
N/A 
16. 
Were you sentenced on more than one court of an indictment, or on more than one indictment, in the same court 
and at the same time? 
Yes D 
No! t/ 'I 
17. 
Do you have any future sentence to serve aftr yr complete the sentence for the judgment that you are 
challenging? 
Yes ! ! 
No ~ 
J 
(a) If so, give name and location of court that imposed the other sentence you will serve in the future: 
(b) Give the date the other sentence was imposed: ----------------------
( c) Give the length of the other sentence: -------------------------
( d) Have you filed, or do you plan to file, any motion, petition, or application that challenges the judgment or 
sentence to be served in the future? 
Yes D 
No jl(_! 
18. 
TIMELINESS OF MOTION: If your judgment of conviction became final over one year ago, you must explain 
why the one-year statute of limitations as contained in 28 U.S.C. § 2255 does not bar your motion.* 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 10 of 14

AO 243 (Rev. 01 /15) 
* The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA") as contained in 28 U.S.C. § 2255, 
paragraph 6, provides in part that: 
A one-year period of limitation shall apply to a motion under this section. The limitation period shall run 
from the latest of -
( 1) the date on which the judgment of conviction became final; 
Page 12 
(2) the date on which the impediment to making a motion created by governmental action in violation of 
the Constitution or laws of the United States is removed, if the movant was prevented from making such a 
motion by such governmental action; 
(3) the date on which the right asserted was initially recognized by the Supreme Court, if that right has 
been newly recognized by the Supreme Court and made retroactively applicable to cases on collateral 
review; or 
(4) the date on which the facts supporting the claim or claims presented could have been discovered 
through the exercise of due diligence. 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 11 of 14

Page 13 
Therefore, Fayne respectfully requests that the Court grant the following relief: 
Vacate his conviction and sentence to start anew; alternatively, grant an Evidentiary hearing to further prove 
his grounds set forth above, resolve facts in dispute, expand an incomplete record or any other relief to which this Court 
deems that he may be entitled. 
Respectfully submitted, 
MAURICE JOHNSON FAYNE 
REG. NO. 73197-019 
FTC OKLAHOMA CITY 
FEDERAL TRANSFER CENTER 
P.O. BOX 898801 
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73189 
Appearing Pro Se 
DECLARATION OF MAURICE JOHNSON FAYNE 
I, Maurice Johnson Fayne, declarant herein, declare and attest to the facts in the above and foregoing Motion 
under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal Custody to be true and correct 
to the best ofmy knowledge under the penalty of perjury pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746. I placed this§ 2255 Motion in 
the prison mailbox on the date below invoking the prison mailbox rule. See Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266,270 (1988). 
Dated: October 20, 2023 
MAURICE JOHNSON FAYNE 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 12 of 14

Mr. Kevin P. Weimer 
Clerk of Court 
MAURICE JOHNSON FAYNE 
REG. NO. 73197-019 
FTC OKLAHOMA CITY 
FEDERAL TRANSFER CENTER 
P.O. BOX 898801 
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73189 
October 20, 2023 
U. S. District Court 
Northern District of Georgia 
Atlanta Division 
75 Ted Turner Drive, SW 
Atlanta, GA 30303-3309 
RE: 
Fayne v. United States 
Civil No. 1 :23-cv--------
Crim No. 1 :20-cr-00228-:MIIC-JKL-1 
Dear Mr. Weimer: 
Enclosed please find and accept for filing Movant's Motion under 28 U.S.C. 
§ 225 5 to Vacate, Set Aside or Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal Custody and 
Memorandum of Law in Support thereof will be forthcoming. Please submit this 
document to the Court. 
Thank you for your assistance in this matter. 
Encl. as noted 
Sincerely, 
MAURICEOHNSON FAYNE 
Appearing Pro Se 
Case 1:20-cr-00228-MHC-JKL     Document 326     Filed 10/25/23     Page 13 of 14

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