By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE, May 21 – As Inner City Press covered the OneCoin trial in October 2019, a number of names of indicted co-conspirators emerged on which we followed up, see below.
In the 2019 trial, Mark Scott was convicted. But he is still not in prison, now in 2025. On May 14, the US Attorney's Office wrote in that "
Earlier today, the Second Circuit denied the defendant’s motion to stay issuance of the mandate pending a petition for writ of certiorari, and it issued the judgment mandate to the district court. Id. Dkts. 98, 99. The defendant was convicted at trial more than five years ago, the Second Circuit has affirmed his conviction by summary order, and the Second Circuit has issued the mandate back to this Court. The Government respectfully requests that the Court set a prompt surrender date for the defendant."
On May 16, Judge Ramos gave Scott some time to file: "In light of Scott's ongoing medical issues, Scott requests an opportunity to provide this Court with a more detailed update regarding the status of his conditions and treatment before this Court sets a surrender date. Scott will make any such submission by May 19, 2025. ENDORSEMENT: Scott is granted leave to file his submission by May 19, 2025. SO ORDERED." Watch this site.
Of course, it was entirely sealed [like Sebastian Greenwood's sentencing letters]. Then this: "Upon review of the government's application, and Scott's response, filed under seal, Scott shall surrender for service of sentence at the institution designated by the BOP on August 18, 2025. (Signed by Judge Edgardo Ramos on 5/21/2025)."
One more was Gilbert Armenta, who recorded Ruja Ignatova. Inner City Press has repeatedly asked the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York for more information; it continues even now to withhold the exhibits it flashed on the screen at trial. Inner City Press had to file a FOIA request; the Department of Justice denies expedited processing.
Next we reported this: the US Attorney's Office gave Armenta his own secret docket number and kept it sealed for three years, until AFTER Inner City Press exclusively reported on Armenta's continuing dubious business activities even while a "cooperator." The case was initially assigned to SDNY Judge Willian H. Pauley III, then moved to Judge Edgardo Ramos - who to his credit has now put an end to continued extensions, and set a sentencing date for October 21, 2020. The unsealed indictment is now on Patreon here.
Inner City Press wrote to Judge Ramos, full letter on Patreon here: "Dear Judge Ramos: On behalf of Inner City Press and in my personal journalistic capacity, this is an application for compliance with this Court's April 29, 2020 Memo Endorsement, Docket No. 10 to docket and unseal materials in US v. Armenta, 17-cr-556 (ER). While Docket No. 10 has a full paragraph and one or more footnotes redacted, it clearly provides for the docketing and unsealing of, inter alia, "the initial pretrial conference before the Honorable William H. Pauley III, held on September 27, 2017" and "the bail proceeding held before this Court on March 25, 2020."
More on Armenta's ongoing companies on Patreon here.
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