In his filed Memorandum in help of post-trial motions, Mark Scott’s legal professional claims Scott was unaware of Gilbert Armenta’s conduct.
He additionally insists the DOJ failed to supply enough proof of cash laundering, regardless of a jury convicting Scott on all counts.
I’ve titled Scott’s protection as that of a dumbass, as that’s what his legal professional is representing he’s. Very similar to Konstantin Ignatov’s legal professional referred to him as a “lunkhead”.
Regardless of co-conspiring with Gilbert Armenta to launder a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of euros for OneCoin, Scott’s protection is he was unaware of fraud – which he pegs on Armenta.
Gilbert Armenta, an alleged co-conspirator, offered his personal banks with supposedly inaccurate details about why he, Armenta, was transferring his personal cash to the BVI-approved Fenero non-public fairness funds managed by way of Mr. Scott.
There was no proof in anyway that Mr. Scott was conscious of, a lot much less agreed to, the making of those alleged misrepresentations, and substantial proof of simply the alternative: that Armenta went out of his strategy to deceive Mr. Scott concerning the funds he was investing in Fenero.
A part of the DOJ’s case relied on proof of Scott mendacity to banks. Scott even went as far as to try to cease the DOJ from describing his mendacity as fraud.
However uh yeah, regardless of personally assembly with Ruja Ignatova, poor Scotty didn’t know OneCoin was the supply of funds laundered by way of Fenero. It was all Gilbert Armenta.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh……..t.
Scott’s legal professional additionally claims the DOJ
didn’t show that the monies invested within the Fenero Fund have been proceeds of a home wire fraud scheme in any respect.
This argument is rooted in OneCoin being
run by individuals outdoors america and that its product was offered nearly totally to people outdoors america.
Such incidental ties to america are inadequate underneath the wire fraud statute, and and not using a U.S. wire fraud, the funds at situation aren’t topic to the cash laundering statute in any respect.
Scott is a US citizen and was residing within the US whereas he was laundering funds for OneCoin. Shock horror that US authorities went after him hey.
Scott’s remaining arguments will be summed up as:
- the DOJ didn’t show funds invested by OneCoin US traders handed by way of Fenero;
- lack of proof that Scott knew the 400 million was “from felony sources”
- that Fenero Funds and all the opposite shell firms Scott arrange have been created to hide the supply of invested funds.
Yeah it kinda appears like if any of that was true, Scott wouldn’t have been convicted.
I really feel like this sentence explains one of many core issues of Scott’s protection:
Mr. Scott repeatedly insisted that he believed OneCoin to be professional, a sentiment he repeated a number of occasions on a phone name with Apex personnel that Apex secretly recorded.
There’s little doubt Scott lied to banks and monetary establishments. After the actual fact although he’s claiming he believed what he was saying. “I used to be lied to!” if you’ll.
The factor is, with a purpose to launder cash Scott would have needed to deceive banks and monetary establishments (which he did).
Regardless of his representations, Scott wasn’t some dumbass off the road. He knew what he was doing and the DOJ’s submitted proof mirrored that.
Moreover, the jury agreed.
To that finish Scott’s legal professional claims
the jury directions on each the financial institution fraud and cash laundering counts have been mistaken on key factors, allowing the jury to convict Mr. Scott based mostly on conduct that might not violate the statutes in query.
Mmmhmmm. Nevermind the identical courtroom Scott is interesting to signed off on stated jury directions.
If solely there was a course of by which defendants might file motions difficult proposed jury directions.
Scott has requested the courtroom for an acquittal, or within the various a brand new trial. Probably not liking his possibilities however we’ll see how this performs out.
One fascinating tidbit from Scott’s submitting is the revelation the DOJ let Konstantin use OneCoin funds to pay his authorized charges.
The Authorities just lately disclosed – properly after trial was over – that the Authorities apparently permitted Ignatov to make use of OneCoin-derived funds to pay over USD-equivalent $1.8 million in authorized bills, giving him added incentive to shade his testimony.
Unsure how I really feel about that. It’s some huge cash however Konstantin’s testimony was actually informative.
Mark Scott is at the moment scheduled to be sentenced on April twenty first.
Our subsequent replace will in all probability cowl the DOJ’s response to Scott’s submitting. If it’s a rehash of arguments already introduced in courtroom although, I’d simply depart an replace beneath.
Keep tuned…