| People v Frempong |
| 2008 NY Slip Op 04390 [51 AD3d 506] |
| May 13, 2008 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v JulianFrempong, Appellant. |
—[*1] Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York City (Patrick J. Hynes of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Roger S. Hayes, J.), rendered October 31,2005, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of insurance fraud in the third degree, andsentencing him to a term of five years' probation with 100 hours of community service and$8,000 in restitution, unanimously affirmed.
Since defendant did not move to withdraw his guilty plea, and since this case does not comewithin the narrow exception to the preservation requirement (see People v Lopez, 71NY2d 662 [1988]), his challenge to the validity of the plea is unpreserved and we decline toreview it in the interest of justice. As an alternative holding, we also reject it on the merits. Therecord establishes that defendant's plea was knowing, intelligent and voluntary and there wasnothing in the plea allocution that cast significant doubt on his guilt (see People v Toxey,86 NY2d 725 [1995]). The requisite intent could be readily inferred from defendant's responsesduring the allocution (see People v McGowen, 42 NY2d 905 [1977]; see also People v Seeber, 4 NY3d780, 781 [2005]). Even if statements defendant made at sentencing in an effort to obtainfurther leniency could be construed as asserting his innocence, there was no need for the court toconduct a sua sponte inquiry into those remarks in the absence of a motion to withdraw the plea(see e.g. People v Sands, 45AD3d 414 [2007]; People v Riley, 264 AD2d 689 [1999], lv denied 94NY2d 906 [2000]). Concur—Saxe, J.P., Gonzalez, Nardelli and McGuire, JJ.