With simply 5 weeks to go until his OneCoin prison trial, Mark Scott has backflipped on the evaluate course of he’s been combating towards for months.
The DOJ has labelled Scott’s backflip an obstruction. And certainly the actions of Scott and his attorneys will now probably result in a delay in his trial.
Over November and December 2018 the DOJ offered Scott’s protection group with proof seized from his residences.
Round 100 thousand of these paperwork have been deemed non-privileged by an independently appointed Filter Group.
Customary process dictated these paperwork ought to have then been made instantly out there to the DOJ.
In February 2019 Mark Scott’s protection group raised a stink about having the ability to display screen the paperwork first.
Regardless of being below no obligation to consent, the DOJ agreed to Scott’s demand.
Scott’s protection group was supplied with 25,000 paperwork on Might sixth. The DOJ set a Might 14th deadline for Scott’s group to finish their evaluate.
That deadline got here and went with no response from Scott’s protection group. Out of an abundance of warning, the DOJ prolonged the deadline to Might twenty first.
Scott’s authorized group ultimately made contact on June twenty fifth, solely to request one other deadline extension to July 1st.
Within the meantime, the Filter Group contacted Scott’s protection group to request a tough drive, on which they might present the second batch of non-privileged paperwork.
On July 1st, the thrice prolonged deadline to evaluate the preliminary batch of paperwork, Scott’s authorized group wrote a letter to the DOJ difficult the complete privilege evaluate course of.
The similar arguments have been filed in courtroom on July tenth.
Following a listening to on the matter held on July sixteenth, the DOJ and Scott’s protection group reached an settlement on the privilege evaluate course of.
Regardless of that settlement nevertheless, it will be one other month earlier than Scott’s protection group agreed to the discharge of the primary batch of 25,000 paperwork.
The DOJ lastly started to obtain the primary batch of paperwork on August fifteenth, three and a half months after the preliminary deadline.
So far there are nonetheless paperwork that haven’t been launched, owing to delays attributable to Scott’s protection group.
A part of that could be a dispute over crime-fraud exception.
Crime-fraud exception removes attorney-client privilege if it was made with the intention of committing or protecting up against the law or fraud.
Throughout the context of Mark Scott, an lawyer, allegedly helping OneCoin in laundering $400 million in Ponzi proceeds, why the DOJ introduced it up needs to be apparent.
The DOJ’s crime-fraud exception movement was filed on June 4th. Scott’s protection group responded in opposition on June twenty eighth.
These objections have been overruled and the courtroom granted the DOJ’s movement on July twenty third.
As a part of the preliminary privilege evaluate course of, Scott’s protection group was alleged to have been reviewing the crime-fraud exception paperwork.
On August twenty seventh Scott’s protection group abruptly knowledgeable the DOJ that they agreed to launch “all related paperwork” with out evaluate.
After months of obstructing the Prosecution Group’s skill to evaluate lawfully-obtained proof, and insisting on having the chance to evaluate any paperwork earlier than they’re launched to the Prosecution Group, protection counsel knowledgeable the Authorities for the primary time yesterday afternoon they not want to be instantly concerned within the crime-fraud or privilege evaluate course of.
As above, the DOJ isn’t glad about what they understand as Scott’s stalling.
The choice, which was made with out discover, will now see 70,000 paperwork launched to the DOJ.
Proof that ought to have been made out there to them months in the past.
Based on the DOJ, Scott’s backflip occurred on the identical day the DOJ insisted a dedication to particular launch dates.
Protection counsel has insisted for months that they be given the prospect to “manually evaluate” each doc earlier than the Filter Group releases the paperwork to the Prosecution Group.
This has brought about months of delay and litigation.
Now, with lower than six weeks earlier than trial, protection counsel has abruptly modified its place and is abruptly keen to permit the discharge of all the paperwork with out reviewing them first.
This transformation of place occurred after the Authorities insisted yesterday afternoon that the protection articulate and decide to particular dates for his or her objections to the discharge of paperwork deemed non-privileged or inside the Crime-Fraud Order.
In response, the protection deserted their long-standing objection – expressed as just lately as August 23, 2019 – to launch of paperwork to the Prosecution Group absent evaluate by the protection.
The issue now could be Mark Scott’s prison trial is scheduled to kick off in simply 5 and a half weeks.
A interval of five-and-a-half weeks doesn’t present the Authorities with an inexpensive period of time to evaluate over 70,000 paperwork that it was simply given permission to evaluate for the primary time yesterday afternoon.
Not like protection counsel, who’ve had all of those supplies of their possession since November and December of 2018, the Prosecution Group has been prevented from reviewing these paperwork because of protection counsel’s insistence that it manually evaluate all paperwork earlier than they’re launched to the Prosecution Group.
The DOJ considers evaluate of the launched paperwork as “important proof for trial”.
Primarily based on our evaluate up to now, these paperwork embrace, for instance, emails between the defendant and his co-conspirators,
comparable to OneCoin co-founder Ruja Ignatova. These paperwork additionally comprise emails despatched by Scott and his co-conspirators to banks and different third events, containing lies that have been made in furtherance of the charged money-laundering scheme.
Keep in mind, Scott’s protection group has identified what’s in these paperwork since November 2018.
The Authorities anticipates that the central subject at trial would be the defendant’s data that the OneCoin proceeds he laundered via a collection of purported funding funds derived from illegal exercise.
Due to this fact, the kinds of emails described above could be extremely probative of the defendant’s data and could be essential proof for the Authorities at trial.
Certainly, the defendant’s privilege litigation technique seems calculated to deprive the Authorities of the usage of such proof.
Given the evidently incriminating contents, why they’ve been working to cease and/or delay launch of the proof to the DOJ needs to be apparent.
Little doubt reluctantly, the DOJ has requested the courtroom to adjourn Scott’s scheduled October trial.
A Standing Convention was scheduled and I consider held on August twenty ninth.
As of but nevertheless, particulars of the listening to have but to be made public. Keep tuned…
Replace thirty first August 2019 – Mark Scott’s OneCoin trial has been rescheduled for November 4th.