Supplemental Brief re: 61 MOTION for Interlocutory Sale as to Carl Delano Torjagbo filed by… — USA v. Torjagbo (Dkt. 95)

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U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia · No. 1:22-cr-00171-MLB-RDC · Doc. 95 · 2024-07-09 · Docket on CourtListener

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A supplemental brief filed July 9, 2024 by the United States in United States v. Carl Delano Torjagbo, Criminal Action No. 1:22-CR-171-MLB-RDC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Doc. 95, supporting its Motion for Interlocutory Sale (Doc. 61). The motion seeks an order to sell three real properties in Marietta, Acworth and Cartersville, Georgia, listed in the forfeiture provision of the seven-count indictment returned May 10, 2022. The brief reports unpaid taxes of $43,784.89, $5,725.73 and $2,593.14 on the three properties, and states that the homeowners' association for one property reports apparent squatters. Citing Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b)(7) and Supplemental Rule G(7), it argues that the unpaid taxes and risk of deterioration justify a sale, with proceeds held as a substitute res. A footnote states that the defendant does not consent.

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA 
ATLANTA DIVISION 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
v. 
CARL DELANO TORJAGBO 
A/K/A KARL LUCIUS DELANO 
Criminal Action No.  
1:22-CR-171-MLB-RDC 
 
SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF  
MOTION FOR INTERLOCUTORY SALE OF REAL PROPERTY (DOC. 61) 
The United States of America, by Ryan K. Buchanan, United States Attorney, 
and Nicholas L. Evert, Assistant United States Attorney, for the Northern District 
of Georgia, hereby files this Supplemental Brief in support of its Motion for 
Interlocutory Sale (Doc. 61), which seeks an order authorizing the immediate sale 
of each of the following pieces of real property which are listed in the forfeiture 
provision of the Criminal Indictment: 
a. Real property located at 5114 Greythorne Lane, Marietta, Georgia 
30068 and all buildings, appurtenances, improvements and 
attachments thereon; 
b. Real property located at 101 Holt Drive, Acworth, Georgia 30101 
and all buildings, appurtenances, improvements and attachments 
thereon; and, 
c. Tract 4 Fiber Drive, Cartersville, Georgia 30120 and all buildings, 
appurtenances, improvements and attachments thereon, 
Case 1:22-cr-00171-MLB-RDC     Document 95     Filed 07/09/24     Page 1 of 5

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(collectively, “Subject Real Properties”).1 In support of the motion, the 
Government shows the Court the following: 
I. 
Relevant Factual and Procedural Background 
On May 10, 2022, a Grand Jury, sitting in the Northern District of Georgia, 
returned a seven-count Criminal Indictment charging Carl Delano Torjagbo 
a/k/a Karl Lucius Delano (“Torjagbo”) with bank fraud, concealment money 
laundering, and transactional money laundering. The Indictment included a 
forfeiture provision that notified Torjagbo that, upon conviction, the Government 
would seek to forfeit property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, 
directly or indirectly, as a result of bank fraud and property, real or personal, 
involved in the money laundering offenses, and all property traceable to such 
money laundering offenses. Torjagbo was ordered detained pending trial on 
May 12, 2022, and he has remained detained since then. (See Doc. 11). 
On August 29, 2023, because (a) the Subject Real Properties had been vacant 
and/or had not been maintained and were rapidly deteriorating and (b) property 
taxes had not been paid on 5114 Greythorne Lane since 2022 and were 
approximately $38,000 in arrears, the Government sought the Court’s approval 
to immediately sell the Subject Real Properties and hold the net proceeds of such 
sales in lieu of the Subject Real Properties pending the resolution of the matter. 
Torjagbo did not respond to the motion, which is currently pending. 
 
1 Two additional properties are listed in the Criminal Indictment. The 
Government will no longer be seeking to forfeit these properties, and has 
simultaneously filed a notice to that effect.  
Case 1:22-cr-00171-MLB-RDC     Document 95     Filed 07/09/24     Page 2 of 5

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Since the Government filed its motion for interlocutory sale on August 29, 
2023, it has learned the following additional information, which provides further 
support for its motion for interlocutory sale: 
a. A total of $43,784.89 in taxes are unpaid for the 5114 Greythorne 
Lane property. 
b. A total of $5,725.73 in taxes are unpaid for the 101 Holt Drive 
property.  
c. A total of $2,593.14 in taxes are unpaid for the Tract 4 Fiber Drive 
property.  
d. Unauthorized individuals, believed to be squatters by the Home 
Owners’ Association (“HOA”) for the 5114 Greythorne Lane 
property, have been seen entering the property.  
e. The HOA for the 5114 Greythorne Lane property has been paying to 
mow the property’s front lawn and refresh its pine straw in order to 
prevent the property from becoming a blight for the neighborhood.2  
II. 
Argument and Citation of Authority 
As explained in the Motion for Interlocutory Sale (Doc. 61), Fed. R. Crim. P. 
32.2(b)(7) authorizes a district court to order the interlocutory sale of property 
alleged to be forfeitable in accordance with Rule G(7) of the Supplemental Rules 
for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions (“Supplemental 
 
2 Initially, one of Torjagbo’s associates was taking care of the 5114 Greythorne 
Lane property, but according to the HOA, that individual has not come by the 
property in more than a year.  
Case 1:22-cr-00171-MLB-RDC     Document 95     Filed 07/09/24     Page 3 of 5

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Rules”). Supplemental Rule G(7) authorizes a district court to order the 
interlocutory sale of all or part of the property subject to a pending asset 
forfeiture action if certain conditions are met. Specifically, Supplemental Rule 
G(7)(b) provides that upon the motion of a party: 
. . . the court may order all or part of the property sold if: 
 
(A) the property is perishable or at risk of deterioration, decay, or injury by 
being detained in custody pending the action; 
 
(B) the expense of keeping the property is excessive or is disproportionate 
to its fair market value; 
 
(C) the property is subject to a mortgage or to taxes on which the owner is 
in default; or 
 
(D) the court finds other good cause. 
Supp. R. G(7)(b)(i). The sale must be made by a United States agency that has 
authority to sell the property, by the agency’s contractor, or by any person that 
the court designates. Supp. R. G(7)(b)(ii). The sale is governed by 28 U.S.C. §§ 
2001, 2002, and 2004, unless all parties, with the court’s approval, agree to the 
sale, aspects of the sale, or different procedures. Supp. R. G(7)(b)(iii). The 
proceeds of an interlocutory sale “are a substitute res subject to forfeiture in place 
of the property that was sold” and “must be held in an interest-bearing account 
maintained by the United States pending the conclusion of the forfeiture action.” 
Supp. R. G(7)(b)(iv). If, at the conclusion of a case, the court orders the forfeiture 
Case 1:22-cr-00171-MLB-RDC     Document 95     Filed 07/09/24     Page 4 of 5

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of the sale proceeds, the proceeds are disposed of as provided by law. Supp. R. 
G(7)(c). 
 
Here, more than $50,000 in taxes are unpaid for the Subject Real Properties. 
Moreover, there are apparent squatters at the 5114 Greythorne Lane property, 
and the only thing preventing the property from falling into disrepair is the 
HOA, which is not being paid by Torjagbo for its efforts. Accordingly, based on 
these unpaid taxes and the risk of deterioration and decay, the Court should 
order that the Subject Real Properties be sold. See Supp. R. G(7)(b)(i)(A) & (C).3  
Conclusion 
For the foregoing reasons, the Government respectfully request that the Court 
grant the Motion for Interlocutory Sale (Doc. 61). 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
RYAN K. BUCHANAN 
United States Attorney 
 
/s/ Nicholas L. Evert 
NICHOLAS L. EVERT 
Assistant United States Attorney 
Georgia Bar No. 693062 
nicholas.evert@usdoj.gov 
 
 
 
3 The undersigned has spoken to Torjagbo’s counsel and understands that he 
does not consent to the interlocutory sale of the Subject Real Properties. 
Case 1:22-cr-00171-MLB-RDC     Document 95     Filed 07/09/24     Page 5 of 5

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