Information — United States v. Shibley (Dkt. 162, W.D. Wash. No. 2:20-cr-00174)

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U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington · No. 2:20-cr-00174-JCC · Doc. 162 · 2022-04-05 · Docket on CourtListener

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October 22, 2020 - 1
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE
_____________________________________________________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
Plaintiff,
v.
ERIC SHIBLEY, 
Defendant.
 
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CR20-174-JCC 
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
October 22, 2020
9:00 a.m.  
Arraignment 
_____________________________________________________________
VERBATIM REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS
BEFORE THE HONORABLE BRIAN A. TSUCHIDA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
_____________________________________________________________
APPEARANCES:
For the Plaintiff:
Brian Werner
Amanda Vaughn
Laura Connelly
Assistant United States Attorneys
700 Stewart Street
Suite 5220
Seattle, WA 98101
For the Defendant:
Michael Nance 
Attorney at Law
615 2nd Avenue
Suite 760, Penthouse Suite
Seattle, WA 98104
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 162     Filed 04/05/22     Page 1 of 7

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October 22, 2020 - 2
THE CLERK:  The United States District Court for the 
Western District of Washington is now in session, the 
Honorable Brian A. Tsuchida presiding.  The matter before the 
court is scheduled for arraignment.  The cause number is 
CR20-174, assigned to Judge Coughenour, United States versus 
Eric Shibley.  
Counsel, please make your appearances.  
MR. WERNER:  Good morning, Your Honor.  Brian Werner 
on behalf of the United States. 
THE COURT:  Mr. Werner, good morning.  
MS. VAUGHN:  Amanda Vaughn on behalf of the United 
States, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  Ms. Vaughn, good morning.  
MS. VAUGHN:  Good morning.
MS. CONNELLY:  Laura Connelly on behalf of the United 
States, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  And, Ms. Connelly, good morning. 
MR. NANCE:  And for the defense, Your Honor, there's 
only one of me.  Michael Nance for Eric Shibley. 
THE COURT:  I'm sure you're equal to three.  Good 
morning, Mr. Nance.  Mr. Shibley, good morning.  Can you hear 
and see me okay?  
THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  If at any time you can't hear or don't 
understand, just let me know, it's no problem, we can always 
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 162     Filed 04/05/22     Page 2 of 7

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October 22, 2020 - 3
go over things.  And if you've got a question, you can talk 
privately with Mr. Nance.  Okay?
THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT:  So, Mr. Shibley, we're conducting this 
remotely using this AV technology, due to the health crisis.  
And I want to talk to you, Mr. Shibley, and Mr. Nance, are 
you folks okay going forward this way? 
MR. NANCE:  We are. 
THE COURT:  All right.  Thank you very much, both of 
you.  
So we're set for an arraignment, it's the formal 
presentation of the charges returned by the Grand Jury 
through an indictment.  And, Mr. Nance, has the defense 
received a copy of the indictment?  
MR. NANCE:  We have.  I mailed a copy to Mr. Shibley 
here over the weekend.  I trust he's had a chance to receive 
it.  I've summarized it with him over the phone. 
THE COURT:  All right.  
So, Mr. Shibley, the arraignment is the formal 
presentation of the charge.  And it seems that you and your 
lawyer are ready to go forward.  And so what will happen now 
is Mr. Werner is going to advise you of the general nature of 
the charges and the possible penalties, if you were 
convicted.  And then we can set a trial date. 
So, Mr. Werner, please go ahead. 
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 162     Filed 04/05/22     Page 3 of 7

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October 22, 2020 - 4
MR. WERNER:  Yes, Your Honor.  
The Grand Jury has returned a 15-count indictment naming 
the defendant, Eric Shibley, in each count.  
Counts 1 through 7 charge Mr. Shibley with wire fraud.  
They charge a wire-fraud scheme that was for the purpose of 
Mr. Shibley to unjustly enrich himself by obtaining paycheck 
protection program and emergency -- I'm sorry, economic 
injury disaster loan proceeds under false and misleading 
pretenses, including by making false statements about monthly 
payroll expenses, employees, and revenues of Mr. Shibley's 
entities, and Mr. Shibley's probation status.  It was also 
the purpose of the scheme, the wire-fraud scheme to defraud, 
to conceal that scheme.  
Counts 1 through 7 are laid out in a table.  The table 
lays out the count number, the approximate date, and the 
interstate wire transmission supporting each count.  If 
convicted of Counts 1 through 7, the maximum penalty that may 
be imposed for each count is 20 years imprisonment, a $25,000 
fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 penalty 
assessment.  
And to the extent the wire-fraud scheme involved 
defrauding a financial institution or an emergency or 
disaster declared emergency -- or declared disaster, the 
maximum penalty is increased to 30 years imprisonment, a one 
million dollar fine, and five years of supervised release, 
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October 22, 2020 - 5
and a $100 penalty assessment. 
Mr. Shibley is charged in Counts 8 through 10 with 
committing the crime of bank fraud, in violation of Title 18 
United States Code, Section 1344-2.  The bank-fraud scheme, 
scheme to defraud, is similar to the wire-fraud scheme to 
defraud.  The purpose of that scheme is for Mr. Shibley to 
unjustly enrich himself by obtaining paycheck protection loan 
proceeds under false or misleading pretenses, or by making a 
series of false statements.  
Further, the indictment lays out Counts 8 through 10 by 
number, approximate date and submission to a financial 
institution. 
If convicted of Counts 8 through 10, the maximum penalty 
for each count is 30 years imprisonment, a one million 
dollars fine, five years of supervision following 
imprisonment, and a $100 penalty assessment. 
Finally, Counts 11 through 15 charge Mr. Shibley with 
money laundering.  They charge that the defendant, 
Mr. Shibley, knowing that funds involved represented proceeds 
of unlawful activity, engaged and willfully caused others to 
engage in monetary transactions affecting interstate 
commerce, and criminally derived property of a value greater 
than $10,000, in violation of Title 18 of the United States 
Code, Sections 1957 and 2.  
The indictment further lays out five separate counts, 
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October 22, 2020 - 6
separated by account number, date, and specific monetary 
transaction.  If convicted of Counts 11 through 15, the 
maximum penalty for each count is ten years imprisonment, a 
$250,000 fine, three years of supervision following 
imprisonment, and a $100 penalty assessment. 
Finally, there are forfeiture allegations also listed in 
the indictment. 
THE COURT:  Thank you very much, Mr. Werner.  
So, Mr. Shibley, those are the charges.  Mr. Nance, on 
behalf of Mr. Shibley, what pleas should be entered?  
MR. NANCE:  Not guilty to all counts. 
THE COURT:  All right.  Not guilty pleas are entered 
as to each allegation.  And do we have a trial date?  
THE CLERK:  Yes, Your Honor.  Trial is scheduled for 
December 14th at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Coughenour.  Proposed 
trial exhibits are due December 14th, and pretrial motions 
are due November 12th. 
THE COURT:  Mr. Nance, does the defense request 
discovery?  
MR. NANCE:  Yes, we do. 
THE COURT:  And I will direct the government to 
provide discovery under Local Rule 16 and Criminal Rule 16. 
All right.  Mr. Shibley, we have a trial date, December 
14th, in front of District Judge Coughenour.  
Mr. Nance and Mr. Werner and Ms. Vaughn and Ms. Connelly, 
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 162     Filed 04/05/22     Page 6 of 7

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October 22, 2020 - 7
anything further from the government or the defense?  
MR. WERNER:  No, Your Honor. 
MR. NANCE:  Nothing at this time. 
THE COURT:  All right.  All right.  
Mr. Shibley, hang in there.  We've got the trial date 
coming up.  Since there's nothing further, we'll be at 
recess. 
(Adjourned.)
C E R T I F I C A T E
I certify that the foregoing is a correct transcript from 
the record of proceedings in the above-entitled matter.
/s/ Debbie Zurn            
DEBBIE ZURN
COURT REPORTER
   
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 162     Filed 04/05/22     Page 7 of 7

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