by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, June 29 – After a circus-like civil case involving Guo Wengui in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which Inner City Press closely covered, here, March 15, 2023 saw the unsealing of a twelve-count Indictment charging
HO WAN KWOK, a/k/a “Miles Guo,” a/k/a “Miles Kwok,” a/k/a “Guo Wengui,” a/k/a “Brother Seven,” a/k/a “The Principal,” and KIN MING JE, a/k/a “William Je,” with various wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering charges. JE, who is KWOK’s financier, is also charged with obstruction of justice.
The prosecutors said that "KWOK was arrested this morning in New York, New York, and will be presented this afternoon. JE is currently at large."
Not mentioned was another, related arrest on March 15, of Guo's chief of staff Yangping Wang, aka Yvette Wang. Inner City Press, lone media in the Magistrates Court, live tweeted her presentment when the prosecutors, seemingly hoping to flip her as a cooperator, offered release on $5 million bond, but only with two co-signers they approve.
Minutes later, in a larger courtroom, Guo / Kwok was presented - with a Federal Defender for the day - and detained on consent. Inner City Press live tweeted, thread here
On June 14, Miles Guo's appeal of his detention was denied - full order on Patreon here
On June 6, 2023, Judge Analisa Torres set the trial date: " Trial shall begin April 8, 2024. Defendants' motion for access to a Government-provided, internet-disabled computer for the limited purpose of reviewing discovery is GRANTED."
But on June 27 Guo's counsel wrote "the Court’s Order dated June 26, 2023 (the “Order”). The Order provides the Court’s bases for overruling the defendants’ request for a speedy trial and for setting a trial date in this matter of April 8, 2024. Specifically, the Court stated, inter alia, that “[g]iven the complexity of this case, the voluminous discovery involved, and the need for sufficient time to prepare and file pretrial motions, the parties expressed a need for sufficient time to prepare, and defense counsel requested a trial date in early April 2024.” Order at 2, June 26, 2023, ECF No. 93 (emphasis added). Respectfully, neither counsel for Mr. Kwok nor counsel for defendant Yanping Wang requested a trial date in April 2024. Rather, both defendants requested a trial date of August 25, 2023, as stated in the parties’ joint letter to the Court dated April 20, 2023. The Order cites to excerpts" - full June 27 letter on Patreon here
On June 29, Judge Torres granted Guo's motion to amend - but DENIED him any moving up of the trial, ruling it will remain in April 2024: "On June 27, 2023, Defendant Ho Wan Kwok filed a motion requesting that the Court amend and reconsider its June 26, 2023 order ("Order"), ECF No. 93. ECF No. 96. Kwok argues that the Court erred when it stated that "defense counsel requested a trial date in early April 2024." Order at 2. He is correct. At a conference on June 6, 2023, defense counsel requested "a trial date along the lines of what we proposed to the Court earlier in April." June 6, 2023 Tr. 4:8-17, ECF No. 88. Counsel was referring to a letter to the Court dated April 20, 2023, in which Defendants proposed a trial date of August 25, 2023. ECF No. 53. Accordingly, Kwok's motion to amend is GRANTED. The Court shall amend its Order to delete the following language: "defense counsel requested a trial date in early April 2024." Kwok also requests that, "to the extent that the Court's decision to set the April 8, 2024 trial date relies upon" the erroneous belief that defense counsel requested a trial date in early April 2024, the Court reconsider its Order. ECF No. 96 at 2. Kwok contends that he did not waive his right to a speedy trial. Id. The Order did not state that Kwok waived any rights, nor did the Court rely on any purported waiver in coming to its decision. Similarly, the Order did not rest on Defendants' acquiescence or objection to a particular trial date. The Court specifically noted that Defendants opposed the exclusion of time and determined that the reasons for exclusion cited in the Order "outweigh[] the interests of the public and Defendants in a speedy trial." Order at 12; see also 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A). Therefore, the error identified by Kwok does not affect the Court's conclusion" - order on Patreon here
On June 12, Yvette Wang filed a motion to also get "an internet-disabled, government-issued laptop."
On June 13, Judge Torres ordered: "ORDER as to Ho Wan Kwok, Yanping Wang: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that 1. KWOK and WANG may each have access to his or her own "air-gapped" laptop computer (each, the "Laptop") that is disabled from accessing the internet, local area networks, or other electronic devices; 2. Upon receipt of an acceptable laptop computer from counsel for each defendant, the Government shall" - full order on Patreon here. Watch this site.
On May 26, Guo's lawyer asked for access to "the Sherry-Netherland apartment, located at 781 Fifth Avenue, Apts. 1801, MR 2219, MR 719, for purposes of visual inspection and video/photographic documentation. Mr. Kwok resided at the Sherry-Netherland Apartment when he was arrested in this matter, and the Government executed a search warrant at this location at the time of the arrest" - full letter on Patreon here.
On June 2, after Guo's bail appeal was heard in the 2d Circuit, the US wrote to Judge Torres that it's "limited to authorizing a documented inspection of the Sherry-Netherland apartment, and therefore does not permit Kwok’s counsel or any other authorized individual(s) to remove any items from the apartment." Full letter on Patreon here.
On June 5, Judge Torres ordered: "ORDER as to Ho Wan Kwok: It is hereby ORDERED that counsel for Defendant Ho Wan Kwok, as well as any retained investigators and defense expert(s), in the above-captioned action be given access to the Sherry-Netherland Apartment, which is cmTently in the control of the bankruptcy trustee, Luc A. Despins, in In re Ho Wan Kwok, et al., Debtor, Case No. 22-50073 (JAM) (Bankr. D. Conn.), prior to the sale of the prope1iy in order to conduct a non-destructive inspection of the property and to document by video and photographic equipment the property's current condition. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Analisa Torres on 6/5/2023)." Order on Patreon here.
Watch this site.
Back on March 31, Guo put in his written argument, pointing out the bail of Sam Bankman-Fried (with DOJ consent) and Bernie Madoff. Page two has Holmes of Theranos, Enron's Skilling, WorldCom's Ebbers, even the Wolf of Wall Street, Belfort of Stratton Oakmont - ironic in that Pras Michel on trial in DC is calling Wolf of Street Street star Leonardo DiCaprio as a witness. He also filed a memo about the MDC jail having illegal cell phones - and weapons, on Patreon here.
But on April 20, Judge Torres denied bail. Full order on Patreon here.
On May 15, Guo's lawyer put in a request for the transcript for his appeal to the 2d Circuit; the transcript is due May 25. Order on Patreon here
The case is US v. Kwok, et al., 23-cr-118 (Torres)
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