The CFTC’s fraud case towards 4 JetCoin scammers has been stayed, pending the result of parallel prison proceedings.
The DOJ sought the keep through an April nineteenth filed Movement to Intervene.
A keep of proceedings is acceptable as a result of the federal government’s movement is well timed and the identical alleged fraudulent schemes are at challenge in each the Civil and Felony Circumstances.
Furthermore, a keep is critical, because the defendants shouldn’t be permitted to make use of civil discovery within the Civil Case to keep away from the restrictions on prison discovery that will in any other case pertain to them within the Felony Case.
A keep can also be needed to advertise judicial economic system.
The courtroom agreed and granted the keep on April twenty fifth.
In associated information the DOJ has objected to Gregory Aggesen’s legal professional, Howard Greenberg, Esq (proper).
Conflicts of curiosity come up from Mr. Greenberg’s involvement as a truth witness to the defendant’s and others’ obstruction of justice and the probability that Mr. Greenberg might be a witness at trial on this matter.
Attorneys are usually barred from performing as each an advocate and a witness in the identical continuing.
A 2021 Amazon collection titled “Final Probability Lawyer”, describes Greenberg as “one in every of New York’s most notorious, outlandish and feared prison protection attorneys”.
A VICE documentary from 2016 frames Greenberg as “the true Saul Goodman from Breaking Unhealthy and Higher Name Saul”.
We go in search of a real-life Saul Goodman and discover Howard Greenberg — a fast-talking, boundary-pushing, notoriously eccentric prison protection legal professional in Brooklyn.
The DOJ make clear they aren’t contending
Mr. Greenberg knowingly supplied false info to the grand jury, or in any other case engaged in doubtlessly prison or unethical conduct.
Their challenge pertains to an alleged obstruction of justice, which occurred whereas Greenberg was representing Aggesen (proper).
As recounted by the DOJ;
In June 2021 the FBI served Aggesen with discover of a grand jury subpoena.
The grand jury subpoena requested sure paperwork, together with any and all data associated to EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin.
In response to the federal government’s request for paperwork, Mr. Greenberg, who was serving because the defendant’s legal professional on the time, submitted to the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Japanese District of New York (“this Workplace”) an e-mail, dated July 27, 2021, from co-defendant White, who claimed to be responding to the grand jury subpoena on the defendant’s behalf and asserted that no responsive paperwork existed.
The July 27, 2021 e-mail referred to the sooner FTC probe, which the defendant, White, and Golden additionally obstructed, and contained materially false and deceptive statements.
In essence, the DOJ’s place is Aggesen, by co-defendant White and while represented by Greenberg, lied concerning the existence of paperwork the subpoena requested.
White despatched Mr. Greenberg an e-mail containing materially false and deceptive info to be supplied to the grand jury.
In consequence, the DOJ places forth Aggesen’s
obstruction scheme raises severe issues that require the Courtroom’s intervention forward of any trial on this matter.
Even when Mr. Greenberg shouldn’t be referred to as as a witness, his first-hand information and involvement in forwarding the July 27, 2021 e-mail to the federal government raises the specter that he’ll act as an unsworn witness for the defendant at trial.
To that finish the DOJ requested the courtroom conduct a Curcio inquiry,
to advise the defendant relating to Mr. Greenberg’s potential conflicts of curiosity and the defendant’s proper to conflict-free illustration, and to find out if he can waive these rights.
Aggesen was appointed Curcio Counsel on April twenty second. That is the primary time I’ve come throughout Curcio proceedings so I’m undecided on the particulars or how lengthy they take.
Aggesen’s subsequent standing convention is scheduled for Might eleventh. The DOJ has requested the courtroom tackle the raised challenge with Greenberg then.