By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Podcast
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 23 – The trial of US v. Weigand and Akhavan began before Judge Jed S. Rakoff in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 1. Inner City Press, which has been covering the case including its Wirecard aspects, live tweeted Day 1, here and below. Now on March 9 it has connected back up to the OneCoin crypto fraud - and the US has explained Hargreaves' phones, in an 8-page filing.
Jump cut to June 15, 2022 when Hargreaves was to be sentenced. But that day, the US wrote it and asked for another six month adjournment, to December 14, 2022.
Another major jump, to October 31, 2023 - when Hargreaves' sentencing was pushed into 2024: "The sentencing control date in this matter is hereby ADJOURNED to March 6, 2024 at 3pm. (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 10/31/23)." The government's request was "in light of the defendant's ongoing cooperation."
On March 5, 2024 the US Attorney's Office wrote to Judge Failla, "The defendant's cooperation is likely complete... adjourn the sentencing control date by approximately 90 days. The Government may also submit a related case letter []prior to sentencing."
Judge Failla endorsed it, adjourning Hargreaves' sentencing to July 10 at 3 pm.
Who has Hargreaves been cooperating against?
On May 22, Hargreaves case was reassigned from Judge Failla to Judge Rakoff, who presided over Weigand's trial: "NOTICE OF CASE REASSIGNMENT as to Oliver Hargreaves, to Judge Jed S. Rakoff. Judge Katherine Polk Failla no longer assigned to the case."
On Mau 29, Judge Rakoff (re) set a sentencing date: "NOTICE OF HEARING as to Oliver Hargreaves: A sentencing will occur on July 23 at 4:30 pm in courtroom 14B before Judge Jed S. Rakoff."
On July 23, it was moved up to 3:30 pm, then delayed by an Afghanistan criminal trial Inner City Press is also covering. Then, very quickly, time served - thread:
Judge Rakoff: I intend to give a time served sentence. Unless you want to speak-
CJA counsel : It's been six years of cooperation. He lives in Barcelona.
Judge: He can be supervised telephonically
AUSA: We have no problem with no supervision Judge: OK, no supervision
Hargreaves: Thanks
Judge Rakoff: You could appeal but then I'd have to order a competency hearing...
And, after OneCoin and Eaze, and who knows what else, that was that.
This case is US v. Hargreaves, 18-cr-746 (Rakoff) Watch this site.
On March 2, evidence began - and witnesses with immunity deals. (Tassone's immunity deal is now on Patreon, here). Inner City Press tweeted in Day 2, here.
Day Four began with news, tweeted by Inner City Press, that a juror had tested positive for COVID, and ended with cooperator Oliver Hargreaves on the stand.
Day Five, things took off. The remaining 13 jurors all tested negative and when Hargreaves testified, first about fake website for golf equipment and facial cream, he soon turned to the meat: Wirecard and Jan Marsalek, live tweeted thread below. Inner City Press has asked the US Attorney's Office to make available the exhibits, as is done in other cases. So far, nothing. Some live tweets from the thread, here and below.
On March 9, world's collided. Hargreaves on cross examination admitted he and his boss Gary Murphy had dealt with OneCoin crypto-Ponzi money launderer Gilbert Armenta, whom Inner City Press has covered, including exclusive reporting on Armenta's ongoing businesses. Inner City Press retweeted from the cross here:
In #Wirecard / @Eaze trial of US v. Weigand, cooperator Oliver Hargreaves just admitted that his boss Gary Murphy was working with Gilbert Amenta, on whom Inner City Press has exclusively reported in connection with #OneCoin, here.
Defense lawyer: You knew Armenta's money was illegal, correct? Hargreaves: Yes.
Defense: And you knew about OneCoin, correct? Hargreaves: Yes. Defense: And a connection between Gary Murphy and Armenta, right? Hargreaves: Yes.
Defense lawyer: And you knew OneCoin was a Ponzi, right?
AUSA: Objection [! why?]
Judge Rakoff: It's his opinion. Hargreaves: Yes. OneCoin was a crypto currency fraud.
Defense lawyer: You were getting involved with Armenta to get involved in laundering illegal gambling money, right? Hargreaves: I wanted to do well for my company.
Defense lawyer: Armenta had a bank in Georgia, right?
Hargreaves: Yes, I think so.
To be continued.
From March 8: Hargreaves is reading out in court his message with Jan Marsalek of Wirecard.
Hargreaves quotes Marsalek saying, stop sending to this ProtonMail, send it to "EUprocessing." Hargreaves wrote, EU [Processing] equals Ruben" [Weigand]
AUSA: Who is the deleted account?
Hargreaves: Can I see the page before? It's Ray's.
Assistant US Attorney: For which acquiring banks did you prepare fraudulent application packs?
Hargreaves: Wirecard...
AUSA: Who responds to your chat?
Hargreaves: Ruben Weigand
Defense: Objection, to the extent that the document is cut off
Judge Rakoff: Overruled.
AUSA: Where is Wirecard headquartered? Hargreaves: Munich, Germany...
AUSA: What is a "card not present transaction"? Hargreaves: A transaction not in a brick and mortar shop.
AUSA: Was the fact that Eaze transactions were intended to be run through these Hot Robots accounts disclosed anywhere?
Hargreaves: No.
AUSA: In this Ali Baba chat, Ray says, So darling what will be submitted, right? Hargreaves: Yes. And Reuben says, it's fine
In the courtroom on the 26th floor, Oliver Hargreaves is sitting without a mask in a plexiglass box, glasses on, light suit, not much hair. He's saying that the transactions were fraudulently run through as for "facial care products."
Watch this site.
Earlier on March 8, a request to exclude information from the devices Hargreaves had when he was arrested and began cooperating has been filed, including "On Sunday, March 7, 2021, the government produced a subset of the iPad material that it represented to be the unique material from the iPad, which the defense continues to review. That same day, the government also produced additional 3500 material for Mr. Hargreaves that indicated the phone may have been [REDACTIONS]
"It is now abundantly clear that those communications almost certainly do not provide a full record of the interactions between Mr. Hargreaves and others implicated in the scheme because the government did not take any steps to preserve Mr. Hargreaves’ communications at the time, nor did it disclose that failure to preserve until now." Full letter on Patreon here.
From Day 4: US v Weigand & Akhavan, it's Day 4 - Judge Rakoff says, "That's why we have alternate jurors... We'll space them further apart today."
The case is US v. Weigand, 20-cr-188 (Rakoff).
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