By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Podcast
BBC - Decrypt - LightRead - Honduras - Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Sept 20 -- For money laundering for scam crypto currency OneCoin, lawyer Mark Scott was convicted by a jury after testimony by Konstantin Ignatov and others but was allowed to remain free on bail pending sentencing. Now there are allegations in a motion Inner City Press has sought the full unsealing of that Konstantin Ignatov perjured himself in the Scott trial, that DANY staff knew but did not disclose.
Now on September 20, 2021 in the civil case, this: "OPINION AND ORDER re: [155] MOTION to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Class Action Complaint. filed by Mark Scott, [152] MOTION to Dismiss Second Amended Class Action Complaint. filed by Nicole J. Huesmann, [160] MOTION to Dismiss Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint. filed by David Pike, [157] MOTION to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint filed by For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motions to dismiss are GRANTED. Plaintiffs' request for jurisdictional discovery is DENIED. This case has been ongoing for over two years, Plaintiffs have had the assistance of a cooperator who played a central role in the OneCoin scheme, and they are on their third iteration of the complaint. Moreover, Plaintiffs' jurisdictional allegations are doomed by multiple failures of law, and, therefore, additional discovery would not cure the jurisdictional defects. All claims against Defendants Mark Scott, David Pike, Nicole Huesmann, and The Bank of New York Mellon are, therefore, DISMISSED. The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to close the open motions at Dkts. 152, 155, 157, and 160. (The Bank of New York Mellon., Mark Scott, The Bank of New York Mellon, Nicole J. Huesmann and David Pike terminated.) (Signed by Judge Valerie E. Caproni on 9/20/2021)."
Earlier, this civil OneCoin case in SDNY had been restored, on June 7: "MEMO ENDORSEMENT: on re: [204] Response to Order to Show Cause, filed by Donald Berdeux, Donald Berdeaux, Christine Grablis. ENDORSEMENT: That Plaintiffs dismissed Defendant Greenwood without prejudice does not mean that Plaintiffs were entitled to reinstate their claims against him in this action without first seeking the Court's permission to do so. "When fewer than all defendants are dismissed voluntarily,... the Court retains plenary power to reinstate those defendants until the claim has been adjudicated as to the remaining defendants." Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure § 2367 (4th ed. 2021) (emphasis added). Nevertheless, the Court grants Plaintiffs' request to reinstate their claims against Defendant Greenwood, nunc pro tunc to September 25, 2020, the date of filing of Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint, having found that good cause exists for Plaintiffs' request. Accordingly, Plaintiffs may proceed with their application for default judgment against Defendant Greenwood. Not later than June 14, 2021, Plaintiffs must file updated versions of their Proposed Order to Show Cause, Proposed Default Judgment, and Affidavit (Dkts. 205-207) to incorporate their application for default judgment against Defendant Greenwood. SO ORDERED., ( Motions due by 6/14/2021.) (Signed by Judge Valerie E. Caproni on 6/07/2021)."
This civil case is Grablis v. OneCoin Ltd. et al., 19-cv-4074 (Caproni). Watch this site.
From May 27: in OneCoin criminal crypto fraud case, now a proceeding in US v. Karl Sebastian Greenwood before Judge Edgardo Ramos. Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Folly says, We had thought we could reach a pre-trial disposition [that is, guilty plea] but it has not happened, so we want to go forward. Greenwood's lawyer Bruce Barket: We think discovery is going to be extensive.
Judge Ramos: OK, discovery over a three month period, then we'll come back on September 10 at 3 pm.
Barket: In person? Judge Ramos: I suspect we'll be able to do it in person by then. But if you prefer virtual...
Barket: Let's say virtual. [We are omitting reason]
AUSA Folly: We move to exclude Speedy Trial Act time. Barket: We consent. Judge Ramos: We are adjourned. Podcast here.
On May 24, Mark Scott's sentencing was again pushed back, this time from June 14 to September 15: "MEMO ENDORSEMENT as to Mark S. Scott on re: Reschedule Sentencing...ENDORSEMENT..Sentencing is adjourned to September 15, 2021 at 10:00am. The revised briefing schedule is APPROVED (Sentencing set for 9/15/2021 at 10:00 AM before Judge Edgardo Ramos.) (Signed by Judge Edgardo Ramos on 5/24/21)."
Meanwhile Crypto-Queen Ruja Ignatova's marketing director Sebastian Greenwood continues to have his case postponed. A similar back-up portends for Frank Schneider, arrested on April 29 in Joudreville in the Pays-Haut Meurthe-et-Mosellan trying to get back into Luxembourg and said to be awaiting extradition.
Update: Inner City Press has put questions to the US Attorney's Office - a day later, no response.
On May 13, at the US Attorney's Office request, more delay of sentencing: "ENDORSED LETTER as to Konstantin Ignatov addressed to Judge Edgardo Ramos from AUSAs Nicholas Folly / Michael McGinnis, dated May 12, 2021 re: the Government respectfully requests that the sentencing control date be adjourned for approximately six months. ENDORSEMENT: The application is granted. The sentencing control date is adjourned to November 12, 2021." Watch this site.
Inner City Press previously exclusively reported:
Konstantin: I tried to find where OneCoin had money. I spoke with Frank Schneider.
AUSA: Who was he?
Konstantin: Ruja got her information about law enforcement investigations from him. He was a money launderer. [We'll have more on this]
On May 11, 2021, Inner City Press received a phone message and then an email, about a law suit filed about OneCoin and Ruja and Bitcoin - and now this, "shows that “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova may be under the protection of a powerful state sponsor of terror in the Middle East. The document authored by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior was delivered to the Dubai Chief of Police by special courier in 2015. The document warned that Ruja Ignatova’s OneCoin was a front for terrorism financing. The report authored by Assistant Undersecretary for Criminal Security Affairs Major General Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahim Al-Awadi stated: Ruja Ignatova entered the United Arab Emirates using a diplomatic passport through Dubai International Airport by a private plane and in possession of a large sum of money. She purchased a license for a bank license in the UAE for US $16 million Ignatova used accounts at Mashreq Bank to launder money for terrorist groups and made several bank transfers to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, which included terrorist organizations. Kuwaiti Intelligence believed Ignatova was working for an unnamed state sponsor of terrorism. The lawsuit alleges that Ignatova received diplomatic credential from Sheikh Saoud bin Faisal Al Qassimi and purchased a bank license from him. Other document’s in plaintiff’s possession indicate Sovereign Group’s Nicholas Cully and Ignatova’s German lawyer helped Ignatova and sidekick Sebastian Greenwood open bank accounts in Dubai. Mashreq Bank soon became suspicious and reported the matter to the Dubai Central Bank which ordered a partial banking freeze on the individuals and accounts involved. Ignatova then sold or pledged her Dubai holding worth about $1 billion to the Sheikh Saoud bin Faisal Al Qassimi for 230,000 BTC worth $50 million then and now over $10 billion. Despite issuing summonses for Ignatova, Greenwood, and the others, the Dubai police and prosecutor made no arrests and quietly closed the case in June 2020 even though Greenwood was in jail in New York for money laundering" - and he's still under murky SDNY jurisdiction, watch this site.
Greenwood had a pre-trial conference on August 7, 2020. Inner City Press, as it did the Scott trial, live tweeted it here:
Judge Ramos: Please call the case.
Deputy: US v. Greenwood.
Bruce Barket for Mr. Greenwood who is also on the line.
Judge Ramos: Mr. Greenwood, you have a right to be present in court. Do you waive it?
Greenwood: I do.
Judge Ramos: Mr Folly, tell me where we are?
AUSA Folly: There has been some turn over, the defendant has retained new counsel several times. Mr. Barket has only had a couple of months of the case at this point. We have produced a sub-set of discovery to him.
AUSA Folly: We have had some discussions about a pre-trial disposition. But given the difficulties of prison visits, they have been unable to fully discuss their option. He is evaluating whether to move to trial, or move toward with pre-trial resolution.
AUSA Folly: At this stage it would make sense to hold off on setting any deadline and to come back in a month or two and revisit the status and proceed from there.
Barket for Greenwood: I agree. Our communications with our client has been woefully inadequate.
Barket: This week we got 180 minutes over two days. But usually it's just an hour every ten days. If we could visit, we would spend hours every day, I could get up to speed. A $15 billion alleged international crypto-currency, with a lot of information on the Internet
Barket: He is one of the key participants in the fraud, if it is a fraud. We need to speak with him. Video conferences take 10 days to set up. It's been this way since May.
Judge Ramos: Where is he being held?
Barket: In the MCC in Manhattan.
Judge Ramos: I appreciate the obstacles. The Bureau of Prisons efforts have maintained a level of safety. [Judge Ramos heard a case about conditions in the MCC, brought as it happened by Mark Scott's lawyer Arlo Devlin Brown]
Judge Ramos: Let's come back in October.
Deputy: October 5 at 11 am.
Judge Ramos: In the meantime, have you received all of the discovery, Mr. Barket?
Barket: I got the entire file from prior counsel and some additional discovery from the government. AUSA Folly: We haven't given all of it.
AUSA Folly: We haven't given all of the discovery due to discussions of a pre-trial disposition. We've shown him his own emails to show him his knowledge and involvement from the very beginning of this fraud scheme.
Barket: We've not gotten very far...
Judge Ramos: I would encourage the parties discuss what has not been turned over. Anything else today?
AUSA Folly: Let's exclude Speedy Trial Act time until October 5 to allow discussion of a pre-trial disposition.
Ramos: Granted, this outweighs the interest of the public and of the defendant in a Speedy Trial. We are adjourned.
Inner City Press aims to cover this - and the long delayed sentencing of Gilbert Armenta on October 21. Watch this site, and Twitter feed here.
In a parallel world on March 12 the US Attorney's Office belatedly moved to revoke Scott's bail, citing Scott's continue use of OneCoin derived funds and, explicitly, Inner City Press' "blog post" about Scott dining out in Florida while on home incarceration.
Assistant US Attorney Chris Demase said they have first read out it in the blog post and couldn't believe it - but that it was proved by GPS information from Scott's location monitoring ankle bracelet.
Mark Scott's Florida based lawyer David M. Garvin sputtered over the telephone from Florida, with Scott next to him, that the dinner had involved lawyers. He tried to explain Scott's use of OneCoin funds. But Scott was ordered to turn himself in to the US Bureau of Prisons on March 13. And on that day, Konstantin Ignatov was released. Strange symmetry.
Another of his lawyers, when Inner City Press left the courtroom, was arranging to pay for a transcript, perhaps to appeal. Inner City Press on March 13 asked the US Attorney's Office Press Office for its filings not yet in the public docket. Here is Inner City Press' Periscope video upon leaving the courthouse. The case is US v. Scott, 17-cr-630 (Ramos).
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