Motion for Leave to File by Eric Dean Sheppard — USA v. Sheppard (Dkt. 35, S.D. Fla.)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida · No. 1:22-cr-20290-BB · Doc. 35 · 2022-12-05 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 
 
CASE NO.  1:22-CR-20290-BLOOM/OTAZO-REYES 
 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
v. 
 
ERIC DEAN SHEPPARD, 
 
            Defendant. 
____________________________________/ 
DEFENDANT’S UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO  
FILE A BILL OF PARTICULARS 
 
The Defendant Eric Dean Sheppard, by and through his undersigned counsel, and pursuant 
to Fed. R. Crim. P. 7, respectfully moves this Honorable Court for leave to file a bill of particulars 
and states:  
1. 
 The Indictment charges Mr. Sheppard with six counts of wire fraud, one count each 
for each of the six different government loan applications he allegedly applied for through two 
different government loan programs involving three different companies.  
2. 
According to the Indictment, Mr. Sheppard and unidentified accomplices made 
materially false representations in each application and that he allegedly misused and diverted the 
loan proceeds. Yet, the Indictment fails to identify a single alleged false statement in any of the 
six applications that are the basis for the six criminal charges. Nor does the Indictment identify a 
single instance of alleged misuse of the proceeds of a single dollar of any of the six charged loans, 
or in what way(s) such use of funds is criminal.  
3. 
For these and other reasons, a Bill of Particulars is necessary to protect Mr. 
Sheppard’s constitutional rights, to put Mr. Sheppard on notice of the crimes for which he is 
charged and to be able to properly defend himself against such charges. 
Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB   Document 35   Entered on FLSD Docket 12/05/2022   Page 1 of 3

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4. 
The fourteen-day window provided by Rule 7(f) is not an absolute bar. Instead, “the 
defendant may move for a bill of particulars before or within 14 days after arraignment or at a later 
time if the court permits.”  
5. 
Southern District of Florida Local Rule 88.9(c) further states that “motions in 
criminal cases shall be filed within twenty-eight (28) days from the arraignment of the defendant 
to whom the motion applies, except that motions arising from a post-arraignment event shall be 
filed within a reasonable time after the event.” 
6. 
Due to the volume of discovery and complexity of the charges, the defense did not 
have adequate time to review the materials to determine whether a motion for bill of particulars 
was needed. 
7. 
The defense needed additional time to review the discovery, and ensure that the 
information now sought wasn’t evident form the volume of discovery produced.  
8. 
Besides the volume of discovery, undersigned lead counsel (Jayne Weintraub) has 
undergone unexpected emergency back fusion surgery that has substantially impacted the 
undersigned’s ability to work.  
9. 
The undersigned counsel conferred with Assistant United States Attorney Marty 
Fulgueira Elfenbein regarding the relief sought in this Unopposed Motion. AUSA Elfenbein does 
not object to Mr. Sheppard’s Motion for Leave to File a Bill of Particulars, but does object to the 
Motion for a Bill of Particulars.  
WHEREFORE, Defendant, Eric Dean Sheppard, respectfully requests that this Court 
grant this Motion for Leave to File a Bill of Particulars, and for such other and further relief as 
may be just and proper.  
 
Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB   Document 35   Entered on FLSD Docket 12/05/2022   Page 2 of 3

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Dated: December 5, 2022  
 
 
 
Respectfully submitted,  
NELSON MULLINS  
One Biscayne Tower, 21st Floor  
2 S. Biscayne Boulevard  
Miami, FL 33131  
Telephone: 305.373.9400  
Facsimile: 305.995.6449  
 
By: /s/ Jayne C. Weintraub 
Jon A. Sale  
Florida Bar No. 246387  
Jayne C. Weintraub 
Florida Bar No. 320382 
Jonathan Etra  
Florida Bar No. 686905 
Mark F. Raymond  
Florida Bar No. 373397  
Christopher Cavallo  
Florida Bar No. 0092305 
 
 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
 
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on December 5, 2022 the foregoing document was filed via 
the Court’s CM/ECF system to all counsel of record.  
/s/ Jayne C. Weintraub  
Jayne C. Weintraub 
 
Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB   Document 35   Entered on FLSD Docket 12/05/2022   Page 3 of 3

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