Court filing
Government's Motion for Revocation Hearing — United States v. Elias Eldabbagh (D.D.C.)
Filed August 17, 2021 in U.S. v. Eldabbagh; one of 4 filings from this case.
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2021-08-17 |
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia · No. 1:21-cr-00523-TNM · Doc. 20 · 2021-08-17 · Docket on CourtListener
Full text
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
:
:
v.
:
:
Case No. 1:21-cr-523-TNM
ELIAS ELDABBAGH,
:
:
Defendant.
:
GOVERNMENT’S MOTION FOR REVOCATION HEARING
The United States, through its attorney, the United States Attorney for the District
of Columbia, respectfully moves the Court, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3148(b), to initiate a
proceeding for revocation of Defendant Elias Eldabbagh’s release. Section 3148(b)
provides that government counsel “may initiate a proceeding for revocation of an order of
release by filing a motion with the district court.”
I.
BACKGROUND
A. Procedural Background
On August 17, 2021, a grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment
charging Defendant, Elias Eldabbagh, with wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343,
engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived funds (commonly known as
“expenditure money laundering”) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957, aggravated identity
theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A, and destruction or removal of property to prevent
seizure in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a). The charges arose from a complex scheme
utilizing stolen identities and stolen financial documents used to attempt to steal more than
$25 million in Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans and Economic Injury Disaster
Loan (“EIDL”) funds, resulting in the successful theft of $2,385,000.
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 1 of 17
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On August 20, 2021, the Defendant was arrested in D.C. He made his appearance
on that day before Magistrate Judge Faruqui. At his initial appearance, the government
stated that while there was a basis to move to detain the Defendant, the government did not
object to release to home incarceration with a strict constellation of conditions of pretrial
release designed to address the risk of further frauds. Accordingly, the Defendant was
released to home incarceration and GPS monitoring with a multitude of additional
conditions including (1) do not violate federal, state, or local law (2) no access to the
internet except to communicate with defense counsel; (3) no access to financial accounts
except for one checking account under supervision of pretrial; (4) must submit monthly
records of all bank accounts accessed or used to pretrial services; (5) take no action with
respect to financial accounts seized pursuant to seizure order; and (6) make no request for
funds from financial institutions except by permission of pretrial services. See ECF 8
(Conditions of Release).
B. The Indictment
As alleged in the indictment, between July 2020 and July 2021, the Defendant filed
numerous false applications for PPP loans and EIDL funds, through the use of stolen
identities and stolen financial documents. See ECF 1. At the time of indictment,
investigators had identified more than $17 million in fraudulent PPP loan and EIDL
applications filed by the Defendant. As of the filing of this motion, investigators have
identified $25 million in fraudulent applications. Through this scheme, the Defendant
successfully stole $2,385,000 in PPP loan funds and EIDL funds. Each application was
made in the name of the Defendant’s company, Alias Systems, LLC, and was supported
by financial records – including tax returns and payroll reports – stolen from a legitimate
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 2 of 17
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consulting firm and doctored by the Defendant to appear to be tax records and payroll
reports of his company, Alias Systems, LLC. Count One through Five of the Indictment
charge the Defendant with wire fraud for five of the electronic PPP loan applications that
originated from the District of Columbia and constitute interstate wires. These applications
were filed from an IP Address registered to the Defendant in the District of Columbia.
The fraud proceeds were deposited into an account in the name of Alias Systems,
LLC, over which the Defendant had sole signatory authority. The Defendant then began
the process of executing a truly dizzying array of transactions, ultimately transferring the
stolen funds into dozens of bank accounts, also held solely in his name, and using them to
make investments, purchase crypto-currency, and purchase a brand-new Tesla.
Counts Six through Nineteen of the Indictment charge the Defendant with multiple
counts of 18 U.S.C. § 1957 related to these transactions. In May 2021, IRS-CI executed
seizure warrants on said Tesla and seized 19 bank accounts containing proceeds of the
fraud scheme. Counts Twenty through Thirty-Three of the Indictment charge the
Defendant with aggravated identity theft for his use of stolen identities in the fraudulent
PPP loan applications charged in Counts One through Five.
Finally, the Defendant is charged in Count Thirty-Four with Destruction or
Removal of Property to Prevent Seizure based on the Defendant’s efforts in May 2021
through July 2021 to transfer funds held in E*Trade and Webull accounts previously seized
by IRS-CI. These efforts included attempts to transfer the seized funds and attempts to add
a second owner, in order to allow that person to fraudulently transfer the funds. Indeed, the
Defendant was successful in transferring seized funds out of his Webull account, although
IRS-CI uncovered his plot and recouped the funds through Webull.
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C. Actions in Violation of Conditions of Release
Notwithstanding a pending charge for Removal of Property to Prevent Seizure and
this Court’s order setting pretrial conditions of release which prohibits the Defendant from
taking action with respect to seized accounts and which prohibits any request for funds
from financial institutions, the government has recently learned that on September 15,
2021, after his release on these strict conditions of release, the Defendant contacted
CitiBank, fraudulently claiming that he did not deposit CitiBank Check # 991536681 in
the amount of $230,024.22 (“the check”) to one of the Defendant’s seized accounts at
E*Trade, and requesting that CitiBank reissue the check in an effort to circumvent the
seizure. Said differently, less than a month after his arraignment on a $25 million PPP loan
fraud scheme, the Defendant attempted to defraud CitiBank out of more than $230,000,
and in so doing violated multiple conditions of release.
On or about September 15, 2021 the Defendant signed and submitted a sworn and
notarized Affidavit of Forgery, Alteration, Counterfeit or Unauthorized Remotely Created
Check (“the affidavit”) to CitiBank. See Exhibit 1. This affidavit fraudulently claims the
endorsement on the $230,000 check was a forgery and the Defendant did not write or
authorize the endorsement, hence did not authorize the deposit into the Defendant’s
account at E*Trade.1 While the affidavit was signed, sworn and notarized on September
15, 2021, it claims the Defendant discovered the forgery on May 1, 2021 when he requested
a check for the balance of his closed CitiBank account ending in x2045. CitiBank’s Fraud
Prevention Unit submitted a copy of the affidavit and the check to E*Trade and requested
reimbursement in the amount of $230,024.22. E*Trade recognized the ploy as fraud and
1 See also Exhibit 2, a blank version of the Citibank Affidavit of Forgery, Alteration,
Counterfeit or Unauthorized Remotely Created Check.
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 4 of 17
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denied the request.
On January 19, 2022, special agents from IRS-CI interviewed the notary who
notarized the Affidavit. The notary retained records of the transaction and confirmed that
she notarized the Defendant’s signature on September 15, 2021 at the Defendant’s home
address of 642 Columbia Rd. NW, Washington, D.C. The notary also confirmed the
Defendant’s identity when shown a picture of the defendant. See Exhibit 3 (Memorandum
of Interview of Notary).
The diagram below demonstrates the tracing of fraudulent PPP loan proceeds
through the Defendant’s US Bank Account in the name of Alias Systems and to his
CitiBank account ending in x2045 and finally to the Defendant’s E*Trade account ending
in x1226 by way of the check:
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 5 of 17
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On or about April 6, 2021 the Defendant’s CitiBank Account x2045 was closed
while it had a balance of remaining funds in the amount of $230,024.22. See Exhibit 4
(Citibank Statement for Account x2045). CitiBank issued the Defendant the check from a
CitiBank corporate account for the remaining balance of the account. On or about April
15, 2021,2 the check was deposited into the Defendants E*Trade brokerage account x1226.
See Exhibit 5 (E*Trade Statement for Account x1226).
The Defendant’s Affidavit is False
The Defendant’s affidavit to Citibank, Exhibit 1, is patently false. First, the
supposedly forged check was deposited into E*Trade account x1226, which is held solely
in the Defendant’s name. In other words, the deposit went into his own account.
Accordingly, Statement 1 on the affidavit, “I did not receive any benefit or value from
proceeds of the check/withdrawal order, and proceeds were not used for any purpose on
my behalf[,]” is false.
Second, the signature on the allegedly forged check is clearly that of Elias
Eldabbagh. A comparison of a known signature exemplar of Eldabbagh matches the
supposedly forged signature on the check:
2 According to E*Trade records, the deposit was made on April 14, 2021, see Exhibit 6,
and according to Citibank records, the funds were paid out on April 15, 2021, see Exhibit
1.
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 6 of 17
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Signature on check that Elias Eldabbagh claimed was forged (Exhibit 1 p. 3)
Signature of Elias Eldabbagh from Eldabbagh’s employment contract (Exhibit 7)
Accordingly, the Defendant’s statement on the affidavit that the “endorsement of Elias
Eldabbagh on the above check is a forgery. I did not write or authorize the
endorsement[,]” is false.
Third, a photograph of the supposedly forged check was seized from the
Defendant’s phone and the date of the photograph, April 14, 2020, is the same date of
deposit into the E*Trade account. See Exhibit 6 (Forensic report of check image seized
from Eldabbagh’s phone). In other words, the Defendant took a photograph of the subject
check on the exact same day of its deposit, belying his claim that it was forged by another
person.
The False Affidavit Pertains to a Seized Account
In May 2021, the government obtained seizure warrants of approximately 19 bank
accounts containing fraudulent proceeds of this scheme and a seizure warrant for a Tesla
purchased by Eldabbagh with fraud proceeds.3 Those seizure warrants were provided to
3 See 21-sz-3 (seizure warrant for Tesla); 21-sz-4 (seizure warrant for US Bank); 21-sz-5
(seizure warrant for E*Trade); 21-sz-6 (seizure warrant for Morgan Stanley); 21-sz-7
(seizure warrant for SoFi); 21-sz-8 (seizure warrant for WeBull); 21-sz-8 (seizure warrant
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 7 of 17
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the Defendant during a simultaneous execution of a search warrant of his residence. The
seizure warrant for Citibank included only Citibank account x7483 because account x2045
had already been closed and its contents transferred in their entirety to E*Trade account
x1226. It would appear, based on the facts above, that the Defendant identified the Citibank
account x2045 as an account for which there was not a seizure warrant and surmised –
correctly – that account x2045 was not frozen, and that he might be able to fraudulently
convince Citibank to reverse the $230,024.22 transaction that transferred fraud proceeds
out of Citibank account x2045 to the seized and frozen E*Trade account x1226.
The attempt to obtain $230,024.22 from E*Trade account x1226 through this fraud
scheme clearly constitutes an action pertaining to seized E*Trade account x1226.
II.
APPLICABLE LAW
A defendant “who has violated a condition of release, is subject to a revocation of
release, an order of detention, and a prosecution for contempt of court.” 18 U.S.C.
§ 3148(a). D.C. Circuit precedent permits the Government to proceed by way of proffer at
a detention hearing. See United States v. Smith, 79 F.3d 1208, 1209-10 (D.C. Cir. 1996);
see also United States v. LaFontaine, 210 F.3d 125, 131 (2d Cir. 2000) (“proffers are
permissible both in the bail determination and bail revocation contexts.”).
Section 3148(b) directs a judicial officer to revoke a defendant’s release and order
detention if,
after a hearing, the judicial officer –
(1) finds that there is -
(A) probable cause to believe that the person has committed a
for Robinhood); 21-sz-10 (seizure warrant for CitiBank); 21-sz-11 (seizure warrant for
Primetrust); 21-sz-12 (follow-on seizure warrant for SoFi).
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 8 of 17
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Federal, State, or local crime while on release; or
(B) clear and convincing evidence that the person has violated any
other condition of release; and
(2) finds that –
(A) based on the factors set forth in section 3142(g) of this title, there
is no condition or combination of conditions of release that will
assure that the person will not flee or pose a danger to the safety of
any other person or the community; or
(B) the person is unlikely to abide by any condition or combination
of conditions of release.
18 U.S.C. § 3148(b).
III.
DISCUSSION
A. There is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant violated his
conditions of release.
In this Court’s Order Setting Conditions of Release, which the Defendant
acknowledged on the record, the Defendant was ordered, among many other conditions:
“The defendant must not violate federal, state, or local law while on
release.”4
“No access to internet including smart phones, computers, tables, or smart
TVs, [e]xcept to communicate with defense counsel and review discovery.”
“No access to financial accounts except for one checking account under
supervision of pretrial. Defendant is to restrict financial transactions to one
account and to submit monthly records of all bank accounts access or used
to pretrial services.”
“Take no action with respect to financial accounts that have been seized
pursuant to seizure order.”
4 There is probable cause that the Defendant has violated federal law as his attempt to
steal $230,024.22 from Citibank constitutes bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344
as required for revocation pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3148(b)(1)(A). However, the Court
need not reach whether the government has shown a violation of federal law by probable
cause because of the clear and convincing evidence that the Defendant violated multiple
other conditions of release.
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 9 of 17
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“No… request for funds from … financial institutions except by permission
of pretrial services.”
See ECF 8 at 1-2.
This constellation of conditions was devised to prevent precisely this – yet another
attempt by the Defendant to fraudulently obtain money to which he is not entitled. The
Defendant’s efforts to defraud Citibank constitute a clear violation of the condition that he
take no action with respect to seized financial accounts, as the attempted transfer affected
seized E*Trade account x1226 and it is a clear violation of the order that that he make no
request for funds from a financial institution.
The attached exhibits establish clear and convincing evidence that the Defendant
violated this Court’s release order on multiple occasions by taking action with respect to a
seized financial account and attempting to obtain funds from a financial institution without
permission of the pretrial services officer. These actions constitute a flagrant violation of
the Defendant’s conditions of release and demonstrate that this Defendant is an intractable
fraudster and is simply unable to comply with this Court’s conditions of release.
The government also notes that the Defendant has been clearly evading the
requirement that he confine financial transactions to one account and submit monthly
reporting of that account to the Pretrial Services Agency. The Pretrial Service Agency
officer informed the United States Attorney that the Defendant has been providing bank
statements with no transactions and claiming that his live-in boyfriend pays all expenses.
According to information gathered during the investigation, the Defendant’s live-in
boyfriend did not manage the Defendant’s finances prior to his arrest, and previously told
law enforcement that he is unemployed, thus unlikely able to afford Defendant’s living
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 10 of 17
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expenses which include a $4,500.00 monthly rent payment. Accordingly, notwithstanding
the strict financial conditions of release, pretrial services has received no information
regarding how the Defendant pays his living expenses.
The Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia was informed of the
Defendant’s fraudulent Citibank affidavit on January 24, 2022 and informed the
government that it agrees, based on the documents attached hereto, that the Defendant’s
conditions of release have been violated.
B. The factors in section 3142 support the defendant’s detention under
section 3142(b)(2).
The four factors that the Court must consider under section 3142(g) are (1) the
nature and circumstances of the offense; (2) the weight of the evidence; (3) the history and
characteristics of the Defendant, including his criminal history, and (4) the nature and
seriousness of the danger to any person or the community posed by the Defendant’s release.
18 U.S.C. § 3142(g). The Section 3142(g) factors all warrant the Defendant’s detention
under 18 U.S.C. § 3148(b)(2)(B).
i. The Nature and Circumstances of the Offense
The nature and circumstances of Defendant’s conduct are serious. The Defendant
has attempted to steal more than $25 million in PPP loan and EIDL funds through a
complex scheme involving multiple stolen identities and stolen sensitive financial data. He
has caused an actual loss of $2,385,000. Further, the Defendant took multiple steps to
attempt to thwart IRS-CI’s seizure of the stolen funds. Accordingly, he has been charged
with five counts of wire fraud, 14 counts of expenditure money laundering, 14 counts of
aggravated identity theft, and one count of removal of property to prevent seizure. See ECF
1. The investigation is continuing, and it is possible – indeed, likely – that the investigators
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 11 of 17
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will uncover additional fraudulent applications by this Defendant.
Each of these offenses are serious. Wire fraud carries a 20-year statutory maximum,
expenditure money laundering carries a 10-year statutory maximum, aggravated identity
theft carries a mandatory consecutive 2-year sentence, and removal of property to prevent
seizure carries a 5-year statutory maximum. The government calculates that the
Defendant’s U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Range, based on an intended loss of more than
$25 million is 36, and factoring in his estimated Criminal History Category of III, the
resulting advisory range is 235-293 months’ imprisonment before application of the
mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft,5 which functionally
shifts the advisory Guidelines range to 259 to 317 months’ imprisonment.
ii.
Weight of the Evidence
The evidence in this case is unusually strong. The Defendant filed the fraudulent
PPP loan applications in the name of his own entity, Alias Systems, LLC, and from IP
addresses that were registered in his own name and at his own residence. The Defendant
supported his fraudulent applications with doctored PDFs that showed, in the metadata,
that he was the author and at times clearly showed the changes that he had made to the
documents. The Defendant had complete control over the fraudulent proceeds. They were
first deposited into a bank account over which the Defendant had sole signatory authority
and were then transferred to additional bank accounts which, also, were held solely in the
Defendant’s name. In other words, the Defendant directly received the fraudulent proceeds
and always kept custody and control of the fraudulent proceeds. The Defendant made
repeated communications with these various financial institutions, identifying himself by
5 This calculation assumes that each aggravated identity theft sentence will be imposed
concurrently.
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 12 of 17
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name on phone calls, and inquiring after incoming fraudulent deposits. The unredacted
stolen tax returns from Company 1 as well as photographs of C.S.’s identification card,
used to implement the scheme were found on the Defendant’s personal cell phone.
Multiple credits cards of the identity theft victim, C.S., were also seized from the
Defendant’s residence during execution of a search warrant.
iii.
History and Characteristics of the Defendant
The Defendant has a significant history of arrest and conviction for drug-related
and fraud-related offenses. Further, the Defendant committed the instant offense while on
probation for one offense and on pre-trial release for another. The following is based on
the undersigned’s review of National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and publicly
available state dockets:6
On October 9, 2015, the Defendant was charged with possession, not
marijuana, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia in
Queen Anne’s County, Maryland (0M00025753). On December 18, 2015,
the charges were placed on the “stet” docket.
On September 14, 2018, the Defendant was charged with theft under
$1,500 in Montgomery County, Maryland (3D00386487). The Defendant
pleaded guilty on November 1, 2018 and was sentenced to 6 months,
suspended and one year of probation.
On August 14, 2018, the Defendant was charged with petit larceny and
obtaining money under false pretenses in Arlington, Virginia
(GC18167831-00, GC18167834-00). He was found guilty in absentia on
December 27, 2018.
On September 2, 2018, the Defendant was charged with misdemeanor
assault in Arlington, Virginia (GC18003574-00). The case was nolle
prosequied.
On October 23, 2018, the Defendant was charged with petit larceny
6 Please note that information available on publicly available state dockets is not always
completely consistent with information contained in NCIC reports and this information
has not been confirmed by the Pretrial Services Agency.
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 13 of 17
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(shoplifting) in Arlington, Virginia (GC18004186-00). He was found
guilty on January 31, 2019. The Defendant appealed.
On February 12, 2019, the Defendant was charged with misdemeanor petit
larceny in Arlington, Virginia (CR19000129-00). The charge was
amended to misdemeanor entering property to cause damage. The
Defendant pleaded guilty on April 23, 2019 and sentenced to 180 days,
suspended and 12 months’ probation.
On February 19, 2019, the Defendant was charged with felony possession
of a controlled substance in Arlington, Virginia (GC19000676-00). The
case was nolle prosequied on November 22, 2019.
On February 19, 2019, the Defendant was charged with misdemeanor
possession of marijuana (GC19000677-00). He was found guilty on
November 22, 2019 and was sentenced to 180 days, suspended.
On March 12, 2019, the Defendant was charged with Grand Larceny in
Arlington, Virginia (GC19053972-00). The charge was amended to
misdemeanor trespass and the Defendant pleaded nolo contendere on July
24, 2019. He was sentenced to 12 months, suspended. Accordingly, when
the defendant filed a fraudulent PPP application on July 4, 2020 to Cross
River Bank, he was still serving his suspended sentence in Arlington,
Virginia.
On March 18, 2019, the Defendant was charged with shoplifting in
Arlington, Virginia (GC19001077-00). He was found not guilty on April
19, 2019.
On March 28, 2020, the Defendant was charged with the felony offense of
Possession of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance in Arlington, Virginia
(GC20001422-00). That case was nolle prosquied in May 2021. However,
the Defendant was on pre-trial release during the pendency of that case
while he committed the majority of the crimes charged in the instant
indictment.
On September 11, 2020, the Defendant was charged with misdemeanor
violation of probation (CR19000129-02). This was dismissed on August 6,
2021.
iv. Nature and Seriousness of the Danger to any Person or the
Community
The Defendant’s potential release poses an economic danger to the community,
which also is a basis for detention. The legislative history of the Bail Reform Act of 1984
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makes clear that Congress intended that the “safety of any other person or the community”
language in 18 U.S.C. § 3142 was expected to be given a broad construction. See S. Rep.
No. 225, 98th Cong., 1st Sess. 12 (1983), reprinted in 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3182, 3195
(“The reference to safety of any other person is intended to cover the situation in which the
safety of a particular identifiable individual, perhaps a victim or witness, is of concern,
while the language referring to the safety of the community refers to the danger that the
Defendant might engage in criminal activity to the detriment of the community. The
Committee intends that the concern about safety be given a broader construction than
merely danger of harm involving physical violence.”) (emphasis added).
Courts have appropriately construed the statute to find that protection of the
community from economic harm is a valid objective of bail conditions. See, e.g., United
States v. Madoff, 586 F. Supp. 2d 240, 252 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) (noting support for considering
economic harm in evaluating danger to the community under § 3142 or the Bail Reform
Act); United States v. Schenberger, 498 F. Supp. 2d 738, 742 (D.N.J. 2007) (holding that
“[a] danger to the community does not only include physical harm or violent behavior” and
citing the Senate Committee Report language reproduced above); United States v.
LeClercq, No. 07-80050-cr, 2007 WL 4365601, at *4 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 13, 2007) (finding
that a large bond was necessary to, among other things, “protect the community from
additional economic harm”); United States v. Persaud, No. 05 Cr. 368, 2007 WL 1074906,
at *1 (N.D.N.Y. Apr. 5, 2007) (concurring with the Magistrate Judge that “economic harm
qualifies as a danger within the contemplation of the Bail Reform Act”); United States v.
Gentry, 455 F. Supp. 2d 1018, 1032 (D. Ariz. 2006) (in a fraud and money laundering case,
in determining whether pretrial detention was appropriate, the court held that danger to the
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community under Section 3142(g) “may be assessed in terms other than the use of force or
violence . . . [including] economic danger to the community”); United States v. Giordano,
370 F. Supp. 2d 1256, 1270 (S.D. Fla. 2005) (“There can be no question that an economic
danger . . . falls under the broad umbrella of ‘dangerousness’ as that term is used throughout
the Bail Reform Act.”).
This Defendant has filed dozens of fraudulent applications with lenders and
government agencies seeking funds to which he is not entitled. After seizure of his
fraudulent proceeds, he continued to attempt to unlawfully regain custody of his fraud
proceeds. Even after indictment for a $17 million fraud, this Defendant continued to
attempt to defraud a financial institution in direct violation of his conditions of release. The
Defendant poses a serious and immediate economic danger to the community, which is
well exemplified by his efforts to defraud Citibank out of $230,000 while on pre-trial
release in this case.
C. The Defendant has demonstrated that he is unlikely to abide by any
condition of combination of conditions of release.
The possibility of economic danger to the community if the Defendant remains on
release is persuasively established by the Defendant’s own attempts to defraud Citibank
while on release for the instant case. The Defendant has demonstrated abject disregard for
this Court’s conditions of release and it is evident that he will be unable to abide by the
Court’s conditions of release.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the Court should revoke the Defendant’s release
pursuant to Sections 3148(b)(1)(B) and 3148(b)(2)(B) because there is clear and
convincing evidence that the Defendant has violated multiple conditions of release and the
Case 1:21-cr-00523-TNM Document 20 Filed 01/25/22 Page 16 of 17
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Defendant is unlikely to abide by any condition or combination of conditions of release.
The Defendant should be remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals Service
pending trial in this matter.
Respectfully submitted,
MATTHEW M. GRAVES
United States Attorney
D.C. Bar No. 481052
By: /s/
LESLIE A. GOEMAAT
MA Bar No. 676695
Assistant United States Attorney
Fraud Section
U.S. Attorney’s Office
555 4th Street, N.W., Room 5840
Washington, D.C. 20530
Office: 202-803-1608
Leslie.Goemaat@usdoj.gov
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