Court filing
Sentencing Hearing Transcript — Gardy Alexandre
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2024-05-28 |
U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts · No. 1:24-cr-10007-MJJ · Doc. 88 · 2024-05-28 · Docket on CourtListener
Summary
A transcript of a sentencing hearing in United States of America v. Gardy Alexandre, Criminal Action No. 24-CR-10007-MJJ-3, before Judge Myong J. Joun in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, held May 28, 2024 and filed September 5, 2024 as Document 88. The court states it reviewed the presentence report and both sentencing memoranda and adopts probation's base offense level of 6 over the government's objection. It adds 14 levels for the loss amount and one level for a conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. 1957, then subtracts three levels, reaching a total offense level of 18. With Criminal History Category II the court gives a guideline range of 30 months to 37 months, supervised release of 1 to 3 years and a fine range of $10,000 to $100,000, and declines to depart. The government recommends 27 months of incarceration and 36 months of supervised release.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
______________________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff, Criminal Action
No. 24-CR-10007-MJJ-3
V.
May 28, 2024
GARDY ALEXANDRE,
2:30 p.m.
Defendant.
_______________________________
BEFORE THE HONORABLE MYONG J. JOUN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
JOHN J. MOAKLEY U.S. COURTHOUSE
1 COURTHOUSE WAY
BOSTON, MA 02210
JAMIE K. HALPIN, RPR, RMR
Official Court Reporter
John J. Moakley U.S. Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Room 5205
Boston, MA 02210
jkhhalpin@gmail.com
Case 1:24-cr-10007-MJJ Document 88 Filed 09/05/24 Page 1 of 29
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APPEARANCES:
FOR THE GOVERNMENT:
David M. Holcomb
United States Attorney's Office MA
1 Courthouse Way
Suite 9200
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 756-9043
Email: David.Holcomb@usdoj.gov
FOR THE DEFENDANT:
James L. Sultan
Rankin & Sultan
1666 Massachusetts Avenue
Suite P-16
Lexington, MA 02420
617-720-0011
Fax: 617-742-0701
Email: Jsultan@rankin-sultan.com
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P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S
THE CLERK: All rise.
(The Honorable Court Entered)
(INTERPRETER SWORN)
THE CLERK: Please state your name for the record.
THE INTERPRETER: Simon A Chen, C-H-E-N, Mandarin.
MR. SULTAN: James Sultan for Gardy Alexandre.
THE CLERK: Today is May 28, 2024. We're on the
record in the matter of United States v. Gardy Alexandre, Case
Number 24-CR-10007. Counsel, please identify themselves for
the record.
MR. HOLCOMB: Good afternoon, your Honor. David
Holcomb for the United States.
THE COURT: Mr. Holcomb.
MR. SULTAN: Good afternoon, your Honor. Jamie Sultan
for Gardy Alexandre.
THE COURT: Mr. Sultan. Good to see both of you. Mr.
Alexandre, good afternoon, sir.
THE DEFENDANT: Good afternoon, sir.
THE COURT: So we're here for sentencing. I received
and reviewed the presentence report as revised on May 20 and
the Government's sentencing memo dated May 21 and the
defendant's sentencing memo also filed on May 21. There is a
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motion for order of forfeiture. Did you want to be heard on
that?
MR. SULTAN: Well, your Honor, I think that that
relates to the defendant's ability to pay so I would -- I mean,
I can do it now or we can do it later, but I understand the
restitution is mandatory, but given his lack of ability to pay,
I don't really -- I think the Court has a discretion not to
order forfeiture as well as restitution. So I guess that's the
position I would take with the Court.
MR. HOLCOMB: Yeah, I would oppose that request, your
Honor. I don't see a reason to deviate from imposing both
restitution and forfeiture. I think the payment plan or the
payment plan issue, the ability to pay issue, is a separate
consideration to be ironed out on the back end with the U.S.
Attorney's Office Financial Litigation Unit.
THE COURT: I'm pretty sure probation takes that into
consideration at the time -- I mean, the order is in place, the
forfeiture.
MS. SOUSA: The forfeiture and the restitution are two
separate issues. If the Department of Justice chose, the
forfeiture amount should go toward restitution. That would be
dealt with later.
THE COURT: Okay, all right. So other than the PSR
and the sentencing memos, I don't believe anything else has
been submitted.
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MR. HOLCOMB: No, your Honor.
MR. SULTAN: Nothing else submitted. Your Honor, I'm
sorry, I have one small correction. In my sentencing memo on
Page 2, I stated incorrectly that Mr. Alexandre has never been
married. He was married once about 30 years ago. So I just
wanted to make that correction for the record.
THE COURT: Yeah, I read someplace else that he's been
divorced, all right. And Attorney Sultan, have you reviewed
the PSR with your client?
MR. SULTAN: I'm sorry, your Honor?
THE COURT: Have you discussed the PSR with your
client?
MR. SULTAN: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: And you've discussed the objection that I
noted in there?
MR. SULTAN: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: And Mr. Alexandre, let me ask you, you've
had a chance to review the presentence report and discuss it
with your attorney?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you so much. So I know
the Government had an objection to the base offense level in
the PSR as calculated. I looked at it, and I'm going to adopt
the analysis made by probation. I found the video and the
training material from the sentencing commission to be very
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helpful, particularly the handout from the commission, and on
Page 2 of the handout, in the Hypothetical Number 3, I think it
addresses the concern that we had here or how we should go
about calculating the base offense level. It was a bit
confusing, I admit, but given that clarification from the
training material from the commission, I'm satisfied with the
analysis made by probation. So I'm going to start the base
offense level at 6 instead of the 7 that you're suggesting.
MR. HOLCOMB: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: Say that again.
MR. HOLCOMB: I just said yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. So following the most recent
guideline with the offense level beginning at 6, because the
loss was between $550,000 and $1.5, 14 levels are added. That
brings us to 20.
Because Mr. Alexandre pled guilty to a conspiracy
under 18 U.S.C. 1957, one level is added. That brings us to
21.
With his clear demonstration of acceptance of
responsibility, the offense level is decreased by 2. So that
brings us to 19.
With his timely notification of intention to enter
into a plea of guilty, that brings us down one additional
level. So a total offense level is 18. Any disagreement?
MR. SULTAN: I agree, your Honor.
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MR. HOLCOMB: I agree with that calculation, your
Honor. I would just note again for the record the Government's
objection.
THE COURT: The objection is noted. So based upon the
total offense level of 18 and Criminal History Category of II,
as I understand it, the guideline range is 30 months to 37
months, a supervised release range from 1 to 3 years, a fine
range of $10,000 to $100,000 and a mandatory special assessment
of $100 in each count for a total of $200.
And Mr. Sultan, I know you in your memo suggested that
I depart based on the criminal history category. I don't know
if you want to be heard any further on that.
MR. SULTAN: Just very briefly, your Honor. I think
that obviously a II is higher than a I. All of his convictions
are for driving under the influence. He's had a longstanding
problem with alcoholism, and I just think II overstates his
record. I understand that driving under the influence is a
serious offense and people can get killed by drunk drivers, but
in light of the relationship between his record and his
longstanding alcohol problem, that's the basis for my request.
THE COURT: And I get it. My intention is not to
depart. I think departure is authorized in this case given
that Mr. Alexandre's criminal history score of II comes from
the two recent convictions of driving under the influence, and
without, again like you, without minimizing those crimes, they
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are different from the crimes for which Mr. Alexandre has
pleaded guilty to here and those DUI or OUI convictions stemmed
from, at least based on my reading of the material, his
well-documented and longstanding battle with alcohol going back
at least twenty-five years, but the reason I'm not going to
depart is because, number one, even if the Criminal History
Category under I, the range is 27 to 33 months, and I will be
taking those factors into consideration in my sentencing.
So I will hear from the Government, Mr. Holcomb, as to
the Government's recommendation.
MR. HOLCOMB: Thank you, your Honor. The Government
is recommending a sentence of 27 months incarceration, with 36
months of supervised release and the restitution that's
specified in the parties' plea agreement which represents the
losses that are attributable to this defendant's conduct. A
27-month sentence is below the guidelines as calculated even
with the lower 18 being the total offense level, and the
Government has agreed to make a below-guidelines recommendation
based primarily on the defendant's pre-indictment acceptance of
responsibility as well as the fact that his own profits from
this scheme were just a portion of the overall loss amount that
he is responsible for which is what is really driving the
guidelines range here.
So the primary reason for the sentence and the
importance of the sentence is deterrence. Generally,
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deterrence, this district, like so many others, has seen a
variety of cases by now involving pandemic relief fraud and
especially involving this program, the Paycheck Protection
Program.
What makes Mr. Alexandre's case unique is that while
most of the other cases involving PPP fraud involved defendants
lying on applications to get bigger amounts for themselves, Mr.
Alexandre did not only that but he and his co-defendants
essentially created a business of their own out of committing
PPP fraud for other borrowers.
He worked on his own, he didn't have any employees, and at
most as a tax return preparer, working on his own he may have
been eligible for a PPP loan of around $20,000 and that's only
-- as a sole proprietor, he had made the maximum cap for the
program which was $100,000 a year, which there is no indication
he made close to that, and so any truthful application by Mr.
Alexandre would have resulted in a PPP loan of less than
$20,000; but instead, what he did was he gave information to
his co-defendant, Adiana Pierre, about his business. She
passed it along to the third co-defendant, Wallace Ford, and he
applied for a loan of $300,000 for Mr. Alexandre. Mr. Ford
listed false numbers of employees in payroll to back into that
$300,000 amount because the calculation was based on two and a
half times the average monthly payroll of the borrower, and Mr.
Ford gave Mr. Alexandre the login information for that online
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application to review and sign the application.
Once that loan was dispersed to Mr. Alexandre, he then
paid Mr. Ford a commission or a kickback of 10 percent of that
loan which was $30,000.
The PPP application was a simple two-page, two-to-three
page form that millions of businessowners completed and just on
their own to get a loan to help prop up their struggling
businesses. There is no legitimate reason to be charging or
paying a fee of 10 percent or more of the resulting PPP loan
just to submit one of these applications for somebody else.
What Mr. Alexandre was actually doing was paying for
someone else to get him a much larger loan than what he was
actually eligible for through false representations.
And after he got his own loan, he then joined Mr. Ford and
Ms. Pierre in helping others get loans that were larger than
they were eligible for.
His referrals led to several substantial loans based on
egregious claims about borrowers' payroll expenses, including
the two loans to Massachusetts borrowers that are highlighted
in both the PSR and the Government's memo, and these in turn
led to large portions of these PPP loans getting kicked back to
Mr. Ford, Ms. Pierre and Mr. Alexandre for doing nothing -- in
Mr. Alexandre's case, for doing nothing more than making the
connection between the borrower and the application preparer.
Regarding the other 3553(a) factors, your Honor, the
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defendant's memo and presentence report describes a number of
hardships that the Government acknowledges shouldn't be
minimized.
And the criminal history, in the Government's view,
appropriately reflects the seriousness of those offenses and
the fact that this is not mere substance abuse. This is
life-endangering conduct on a repeated basis by this defendant.
But the most striking thing to the Government is that Mr.
Alexandre held himself out as a tax return preparer, and so he
is somebody who in that capacity presumably represented
financial information of other people to the Government and so
he knew and understood how significant it was to lie on forms
related to Government funding; but this wasn't, again, this
wasn't a complicated application process. This was a
straightforward form and a straightforward calculation. There
wasn't a whole lot of room for confusion here.
Putting the offense in the larger context of the time and
the rush to get the funds out, there certainly was plenty of
temptation and opportunity for fraud. The lenders made money
by getting PPP money out quickly, and in fact, the system was
designed to do that, but it was a finite pool made available
for a limited, specific purpose, and Mr. Alexandre and his
co-defendants not only stole from that pool but then they got
paid to help other people steal from that pool.
So his sentence should reflect the need to promote respect
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for the rules for obtaining funds from those types of public
programs and to deter others from stealing from public funds.
A 27-month sentence is proportionate to Mr. Alexandre's
offense and his criminal history when placed alongside many of
the other defendants in this district who have been sentenced
for pandemic fraud, especially if the Court accounts for the
ripple effects or Mr. Alexandre's activity in that this was not
just a loan for himself, but he induced others to commit the
same type of fraud.
So for those reasons, your Honor, the Government
respectfully submits that 27 months, below guidelines, is
sufficient but no greater than necessary to meet the goals of
sentencing in Mr. Alexandre's case.
THE COURT: Thank you. Mr. Sultan.
MR. SULTAN: Thank you, your Honor. So I certainly
don't want to repeat everything that's in my sentencing memo or
the PSR, but I do want to highlight, if I may, a few aspects of
Mr. Alexandre's background, a few aspects of the offense
conduct, the particular circumstance that applies to him and
then my recommendation.
So Mr. Alexandre really is a self-made man. He was sent
from his native Haiti to New York City when he was 14 to live
with a mother who he didn't know and had only barely met.
He didn't know any English.
He got himself through high school.
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He got himself into college and walked on to the soccer
team at Stoney Brook University where he became a star, still
holding records that stood for many years there.
He graduated from college.
He enlisted in United States Army where he served our
country for two years.
He then went and moved to Florida where he became trained
as a tax preparer and went into business for himself in that
area.
Unfortunately, this comes back later on, Mr. Alexandre,
even though he's been here for almost four decades and came
here as a legal resident alien, never took the time to apply
for U.S. citizenship. Therefore, he comes before the Court as
a non-citizen who is likely to be deported back to his native
Haiti, which is now obviously a violent country, even though he
hasn't had any connection with that country for four decades
and the United States of America is his home.
Mr. Alexandre has suffered from mental illnesses including
depression, anxiety, alcoholism and gambling addiction, and
those became worse when his -- during the pandemic and they
became worse a few years ago when his mother passed away.
When the pandemic happened in 2020, his business stopped.
His treatment at the VA was put in suspense and his support
system basically was unavailable to him, and none of that is an
excuse for his offense conduct which he takes responsibility
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for but it provides some of the context in which he did make
the terrible decision to participate in this fraudulent
conduct.
Now, with respect to the offense conduct, your Honor,
I think the Government's description in their sentencing memo,
if I can just read two paragraphs of it, I think really
captures Mr. Alexandre's role, how he got into it, and what he
did. So if the Court will indulge me, I'm going to just read
from the Government's sentence memo at Page 2.
"After his first attempt at obtaining a PPP loan for his
business, Palm Beach Community House, failed, the defendant
accepted assistance from a woman that he met through his work
as a tax return preparer, co-defendant Adiana Pierre. Pierre
and her friend from church, co-defendant Wallace Ford, agreed
to work together to make money by securing PPP loans for
individuals and businesses. Pierre recruited the borrowers,
including Mr. Alexandre, and Ford electronically prepared the
applications. Rather that soliciting and reporting accurate
information about potentially borrowers' employees and payroll
costs, they, they being Pierre and Ford, fabricated the numbers
on the applications that Ford prepared. Ford also prepared
fake tax forms for borrowers to match the payroll costs he
stated on applications. For securing loans through false
applications, Ford and Pierre charged borrowers a commission,
typically around 10 percent.
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In early June, Ford prepared two PPP applications for Mr.
Alexandre's business, which falsely claimed employees that the
business never had. He also and -- Ford also prepared a fake
2019 Form W-3 for Alexandre's business. As a result of one of
all those applications, the defendant, Mr. Alexandre, received
a $300,000 loan. In return, he paid Ford a 10 percent
kickback.
Thereafter, the defendant, Alexandre, agreed to recruit
additional borrowers to submit applications through Pierre and
Ford and he shared in the kickbacks for securing loans for
other borrowers."
So that was his role, and again, I'm not minimizing it.
I'm not saying he -- he was a knowing participant, but he was
recruited initially, and he is simply, as a factual matter,
your Honor, less culpable than his two co-defendants. Each of
them, according to the Government and the presentence report,
are responsible for more than -- between four and five times
the amount of loans that Mr. Alexandre is responsible for, and
they're the ones who brought him in and he willingly accepted a
PPP loan that he knew he wasn't entitled to and he willingly
went out and recruited several other people for those loans.
That's his crime. He did that. He takes responsibility for it
there are no excuses for that, and I'm saying this in part
because I know your Honor has not yet sentenced the other two
defendants and he is the least culpable of the three. It often
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goes the other way, the most culpable person goes first, but
here we have the least culpable person coming before the Court
first and I just want to highlight that because obviously the
Court is going to consider proportionality in deciding what a
fair and appropriate sentence is.
So the special circumstance I just want to highlight is
the fact that Mr. Alexandre is facing almost certain
deportation back to Haiti and I understand that is not strictly
speaking a factor under 3553, but in real life, it's a pretty
big factor, your Honor. His life that he's built over the last
four decades in the United States, including voluntary military
service, graduating from college, building a business, being a
professional, contributing to his community, all of that is
going to go by the board. He's going to lose all of that, and
he may not see his four children again. That's a serious
consequence of his misconduct. He did it. He's responsible
for putting himself in that position, but surely that is a
special factor that the Court can consider in looking at the
whole picture here and deciding what kind of a sentence, how
long this man has to go to prison. So I ask the Court to
consider the whole picture and that's part of the picture. It
just is.
With respect to recommendation, your Honor, I ask the
Court to sentence Mr. Alexandre to a year and a day in the
custody of the Bureau of Prisons. This is a jail case. There
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is no question about it. As far as I know, every PPP loan,
fraudulent loan person who has been convicted in this district
has gone to jail, and I'm not standing before your Honor
saying, give him probation. He should go to jail for this
fraudulent conduct for deterrence and for all the other
purposes for sentencing, but he doesn't need to go to jail or
27 months, your Honor, before he gets shipped back to Haiti. A
year and a day is sufficient but not more than necessary, and I
ask the Court to craft a sentence of that duration.
I ask the Court to recommend that he receive treatment for
his alcoholism and mental illness while he is in the custody of
the bureau of prisons, and that if he is released back to the
community in the United States for supervised release, that all
of the conditions recommended by probation including abstinence
from alcohol and treatment be imposed as special conditions.
I ask that there not be a forfeiture or a fine because he
doesn't have the ability to pay a forfeiture or fine. I ask
that Mr. Alexandre be allowed to -- that the Court make a
recommendation that he serve his time at an institution in or
as close to Florida as possible so he can -- so his family can
come see him and that he be permitted to self-report to that
institution at the date designated by the Bureau of Prisons.
He's been out for well over a year and there haven't been any
issues with that and he's been here every time he's supposed to
be here.
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So that's my recommendation and I appreciate the Court's
patience in listening to me.
THE COURT: Thank you. Does Mr. Alexandre wish to
address the Court?
MR. SULTAN: You want to speak?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes. Good afternoon, your Honor.
Well, first I want to apologize to my community, my children
and everything else -- and everybody else that I let down with
my engagement with this PPP loan fraud. I take full
responsibility for my involvement in the scheme.
COVID-19 was a very stressful time. It was a difficult
time. I saw everything I had built just crumbling down and did
my attempt to apply for a PPP Loan. Unfortunately, I didn't
have the necessary paperwork to get the loan myself. This is
when Adiana was a friend of mine and she gave me the advise
that she has some people that can help me, and I should have
known better because obviously when I tried on my own I wasn't
eligible for the type of loan that she was getting me, but like
I said, COVID -- I had COVID three times, and I was under a lot
of stress to keep my business and to keep my financials and
that's no excuse but I ended up in this situation.
You know, I have always been somebody who regards myself
as somebody who has morals and standards. This is the reason
why after I graduated college I joined the military. After the
military, I was a member of Americorps which is kind of like a
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Peace Corps. When I got to Florida, I worked at a community
college where I helped people in the Haitian community get into
college.
So my history is not just the crime that I committed but
there is also some good things, and I hope the court can show
some leniency based on the overall circumstances and everything
else. Thank you.
THE COURT: Thank you. So I want to thank counsel. I
appreciate your arguments and your recommendations.
So I have to determine what a reasonable sentence will be
given all of the factors that I must consider under Title 18,
under U.S. Code Section 3553(a). Those factors, Mr. Alexandre,
include the Advisory Guidelines sentencing range, the nature
and circumstances of this case, the crime that you committed,
your personal history and background and the need for any
sentence that I impose to do a number of things including not
just to reflect the seriousness of your crime but also to
promote the respect for the law, provide just punishment and
deterrence and avoid any unwarranted sentencing disparities.
So Mr. Alexandre, I have considered all of those
sentencing factors, and I want to note just a few things.
Given the breadth and scope of the conspiracy to defraud here,
I think both sides acknowledge that some amount of
incarceration is necessary to serve the goals of the sentencing
factors that I mentioned. The Government is recommending a
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sentence of 27 months which is not unreasonable. Your
attorney, on the other hand, is recommending a sentence of a
year and a day.
I am mindful of your role in the conspiracy and relative
culpability with your co-conspirators and the fact that you
were more -- I don't know what's the word -- susceptible to
being lured into the conspiracy given your state of mind, your
struggles with alcohol.
I'm also aware of the possibility that you will be
deported after serving your sentence.
I read in the Government's sentencing memo that the
Government will be recommending 30 months for Ms. Pierre, who
appears to be the most culpable, the brains or the orchestrator
behind the conspiracy.
Using that as a goalpost, I think a sentence of 15 months
incarceration is the appropriate sentence here given all of the
facts and circumstances of this case followed by 3 years of
supervised release and restitution in amount of $1,455,652.
I am not going to impose a fine, but I have to impose a
mandatory special assessment of $100 on each count for a total
of $200.
So I believe this is an appropriate and reasonable
sentence but not greater than necessary to effectuate all of
the goals of sentencing that I mentioned.
Before I formally impose sentence, does either side need
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to be heard any further?
MR. SULTAN: As long as the Court -- sorry.
MR. HOLCOMB: No, your Honor.
MR. SULTAN: Just that I would ask the Court to
incorporate in the judgment the other recommendations I made.
THE COURT: Yes, yes. And on the forfeiture issue,
the amount was 450 some thousand dollars. I will have the
exact figure in a minute. I think that is separate from
restitution and I think Mr. Alexandre's ability to pay will be
factored in. So I am going to allow the Government's motion.
Mr. Alexandre, will you please stand.
Pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 and
having considered the sentencing factors enumerated at Title
18, United States Code Section 3553(a), it is the judgment of
the Court that the defendant, Gardy Alexandre, is hereby
committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to be
imprisoned for a term of 15 months as to each count, to be
served concurrently.
The Court makes a judicial recommendation that the
defendant participate in substance treatment as well as
gambling treatment while in the custody of the Bureau of
Prisons. Although, I can't guarantee it because with 15 months
I'm not sure that that's enough time for the RDAP program, I'm
not sure, but I'm sure the Bureau of Prisons will figure it
out.
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Upon the release from imprisonment, the defendant
shall be placed on supervised release for a term of 3 years as
to each count to run concurrently.
Within 72 hours of release from the custody of the
Bureau of Prisons, Mr. Alexandre, you shall report in person to
the district to which you are released.
It is further ordered that the defendant shall make
restitution in the amount of $1,455,652. $1,150,652 will go to
the Cross River Bank and $305,000 to the U.S. Small Business
Administration.
Given this amount, your current financial statement
that I saw attached to the sentencing memo, I will waive your
-- well, I will waive the interest.
Any payment made that is not payment in full shall be
divided proportionately among the parties named.
The restitution to Cross River Bank in the amount of
$1,150,652 shall be paid by the defendant jointly and severally
with Ford and Pierre.
The Small Business Administration restitution in the
amount of $300,000 shall be paid by the defendant jointly and
severally with Ford and Pierre.
The defendant's remaining Small Business
Administration restitution obligation in the amount of $5,000
shall not be affected by any restitution payments that may be
made by any other defendants.
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Payment of the restitution balance shall begin
immediately and shall be made according to the requirements of
the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Financial Responsibility
Program while the defendant is incarcerated and according to
the court order of the payment schedule during the term of the
supervised release.
All restitution payments shall be made to the Clerk of
the U.S. District Court for transfer to the identified victims.
And Mr. Alexandre, you will notify the United States
Attorney for this district within 30 days of any change of
mailing or residence address that occurs while any portion of
the restitution remains unpaid.
I'm not imposing a fine, as I mentioned. Based on the
information before me, I find that you do not have the
financial ability to pay a fine in addition to the restitution.
And as I indicated, the Court will grant the United
States' motion for an entry of an order of forfeiture in the
form of a personal money judgment and order the defendant to
forfeit the sum of $443,760.
I further order that you pay the mandatory special
assessment of $100 on each count for a total of $200 which
shall be due immediately.
So while you're on supervised release, you will be
subject to certain mandatory and standard conditions.
You must not commit another federal, state or local
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crime.
You must not unlawfully possess a controlled
substance.
You must submit to 1 drug test within 15 days of your
release from imprisonment and at least 2 periodic drug tests
thereafter, not to exceed 104 tests per year.
You must cooperate in the collection of DNA as
directed by the probation officer.
You shall comply with the standard conditions that
have been adopted by the court which are described at United
States Sentencing Guidelines Section 5D1.3(c), and these will
be set forth in detail in the judgment that I will enter either
later today or tomorrow.
And you must make the restitution as ordered.
Those mandatory and standard conditions will be
reflected in the written judgment, but you will also be subject
to certain special conditions during your period of supervised
release and I will read those to you now even though they will
also be included in the written judgment that I will issue.
You must participate in a substance abuse treatment
program and follow the rules of that program and the probation
office will supervise your participation in the program.
As I mentioned, you have to submit to substance abuse
testing, not to exceed 104 drug tests per year in order to
determine whether you've used any prohibitive substances, and
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you are ordered not to obstruct or tamper with any testing
methods.
You're prohibited from consuming alcoholic beverages.
You must participate in any mental health treatment
program as directed by the probation office.
You are prohibited from frequenting establishments
whose primary purpose is gambling.
You're prohibited from participating in any gambling
activities and that includes things like casino gambling,
online gambling, scratch tickets, lotteries, Keno, anything of
that nature.
You must attend a gambling-specific treatment program
and/or meetings as directed by the probation department.
You must pay the balance of the restitution imposed
according to a court ordered repayment schedule.
You're prohibited from incurring any new credit
charges or opening any additional lines of credit without the
approval of the probation department while any financial
obligations remain outstanding.
You must provide the probation office access to any
requested financial information which may be shared with the
Asset Recovery Unit at the U.S. Attorney's office.
You shall be required to contribute to the costs of
the evaluation treatment program and/or monitoring based on
your ability to pay or availability of any third-party payment.
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And it's further ordered the defendant shall pay to
the United States a special assessment of $200 which shall be
due immediately.
This sentence is hereby imposed as stated.
You may be seated, sir.
THE DEFENDANT: Thank you.
THE COURT: I will include in the judgment, as you
requested, that the Bureau of Prisons designate you to a
facility in or near Florida where your family resides. As you
may already know from your attorney, this is only a
recommendation. The Bureau of Prisons makes the final
decision, but I will make sure that the recommendation that I'm
making now is in the judgment.
No objection to Mr. Alexandre self-reporting?
MR. HOLCOMB: No objection, your Honor.
THE COURT: Why don't we give Mr. Alexandre a date
maybe six, seven, eight weeks out.
THE CLERK: Yes, your Honor. Your Honor, that would
be Tuesday, July 23rd, before 2 p.m.
THE COURT: So, Mr. Alexandre, you're further ordered
to self-surrender at the institution designated by the Bureau
of Prisons on July 23 -- before July 23 at 2 p.m., okay?
THE DEFENDANT: Okay.
THE COURT: So I have to advise you of your appellate
rights, and if you recall from our plea colloquy back in
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February, I had discussed with you there was a provision in the
plea agreement where there was a provision about appeal waiver.
Assuming any appellate rights survive any appeal waiver, I need
to advise you that you also have a right to appeal your
sentence, particularly if you think the sentence was contrary
to law.
If you're unable to pay the costs of appeal, you may ask
permission to have those costs waived and appeal without
paying.
You must file any notice of appeal within 14 days after
the entry of judgment; and if you request, the clerk will
immediately prepare and file a notice of appeal on your behalf,
all right, sir?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. I wish you the best, and I
know you have family. I don't know what's going to happen
after you serve your sentence, but I hope that you're able to
take care of your family and put this behind you.
THE DEFENDANT: Thank you.
THE COURT: I wish you luck.
THE DEFENDANT: Thank you, sir.
MR. SULTAN: Does he need to report to the marshals or
not today?
THE COURT: Not to the marshals today.
MR. SULTAN: They don't need to process or anything?
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MS. SOUSA: He should have already been processed
initially.
MR. SULTAN: Thank you very much.
(A-D-J-O-U-R-N-E-D)
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
CERTIFICATION
I certify that the foregoing is a correct transcript
of the record of proceedings in the above-entitled matter to
the best of my skill and ability.
/s/Jamie K. Halpin
September 4, 2024
Jamie K. Halpin, RPR, RMR
Date
Official Court Reporter
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