SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 27 – Ruben Weigand and Hamid Akhavan are charged with a "scheme to deceive US banks into processing in excess of $100 million for marijuana products."
On April 28, Weigand had a proceeding before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Jed S. Rakoff, covered by Inner City Press, below. Since then Inner City Press has been digging into the possible Wirecard link.
On July 27, Judge Rakoff held an oral argument on motions to dismiss, and motions to suppress, with a trial scheduled for January 2021. Inner City Press live tweeted it:
Judge Rakoff expressing frustration at counsel going over old ground, says "I have another matter at noon." Lawyer: If transaction occurred by debit card, there's no damage to the bank, a sine quo non of bank fraud.
Defense lawyer: The banks received a lot of money for these transactions. There was no harm to them. Judge Rakoff: What you're saying is that when they deceived the banks, all they cheated the banks out of was some policy the banks wanted to adhere to
AUSA: It is not clear that the bank fraud statue is a prosecutor's Stradivarius. In the recent case of Attila, harm is a not a factor. The cheating in this case is obtaining the bank's own money through pretense. The analysis can end right there
Judge Rakoff: Let me hear from co-defendant's counsel.
William Burck of Quinn Emmanuel for Akhavan: There has to be a risk of loss to the bank for bank fraud.
Judge Rakoff: I was surprised that no one referred to the civil RICO cases that have address this issue
Judge Rakoff: There was a case in the 5th Circuit, [or the 11th], after an airline takeover, to avoid unionization, the public was told that Continental Airlines was not as safe as Eastern had been. The allegation was that the pilot deceived the public
AUSA (sounds like Dimase) - these are more like Rule 29 motions, arguments about Visa and Master Card, let the jury decide. The indictment is sufficient.
Judge Rakoff: I have read your briefs. And I have other matters today.
AUSA: Conflating loss and harm is a mistake
Judge Rakoff: Let's turn to the motions to suppress.
Weigand's lawyer: The warrants didn't allege that the devices seized were being used for the scheme.
Judge Rakoff: I'd like to hear from the government.
AUSA Nicholas Folly: We only had to show probability... The evidence in the affidavit came from the cell phone of the cooperating witness.
Judge Rakoff: I'll issue an omnibus ruling by the end of August; trial now set for January.
Weigand since he has money, unlike many SDNY defendants, on April 28 already had high powered lawyers from Wilson Sonsini. On April 28 they demanded a bill of particulars.
Judge Rakoff pushed back, setting a tight schedule for that: May 12, May 18 and he'll rule by May 20.
But these high powered lawyers have a grueling trial schedule for other clients, from the Central District of California and elsewhere.
So Judge Rakoff agreed to a trial in December 2020, to be finished before Christmas. Inner City Press will cover it. The case is US v. Weigand, 20-cr-188 (Rakoff).
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