Matera, a Shorthand Reporter and Notary

Source document: Matera, a Shorthand Reporter and Notary; document type: Deposition transcript excerpts (exhibit to attorney declaration).

Full text

EXHIBIT 18
Case 1:20-cv-00658-LMB-IDD     Document 130-18     Filed 05/06/21     Page 1 of 6 PageID#
1594

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
(Alexandria Division)
--------------------------------x
BLUE FLAME MEDICAL LLC,
Plaintiff,
-against-
Civil Action
No.
CHAIN BRIDGE BANK, N.A., JOHN J. 1:20-cv-00658
BROUGH, and DAVID M. EVINGER,
Defendants.
--------------------------------x
CHAIN BRIDGE BANK, N.A.,
Third-Party Plaintiff,
-against-
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,
Third-Party Defendant.
--------------------------------x
February 10, 2021
10:07 a.m.
Remote Videotaped Deposition of
ANDREW STURMFELS, held in the above-
entitled action, located in West Sacramento,
California, taken via Zoom before Dawn
Matera, a Shorthand Reporter and Notary
Public.
212-267-6868
Veritext Legal Solutions
www.veritext.com
Page 1
516-608-2400
Case 1:20-cv-00658-LMB-IDD     Document 130-18     Filed 05/06/21     Page 2 of 6 PageID#
1595

Page 2
Page 4
1 APPEARANCES:
1 APPEARANCE S : (Continued)
2
3
SCHUL TE ROTH & ZABEL LLP
2
Attorneys for Plaintiff
3 Also Present:
4
919 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022-3921
4
ETHAN BEARMAN, JPMorgan Chase
5
(212)756-2044
5
KIM GRIFFIN, Videographer
6
By: PETER WHITE, ESQ.
pete.white@srz.com
6
-oOo-
7
EKENEDILICHUKWU E. UKABIALA, ESQ.
7
ekenedilichukwu.ukabiala@srz.com
8
8
GREGORY J. KETCHAM-COLWILL, ESQ.
gregory.ketcham-colwill@srz.com
9
9
JASON T. MITCHELL, ESQ.
j ason.mitchell.@srz.com
10
10
11
11
12 ROBBINS RUSSELL ENGLERT ORSECK & UNTEREINER
12
Attorneys for Defendants and Third-Party
13
13
Plaintiff
2000 K Street, N.W., Fourth Floor
14
14
Washington, D.C. 20006
15
(202)775-4500
16
15
By: MATTHEW M. MADDEN, ESQ.
17
16
mmadden@robbinsrussell.com
ZACHARY N. FERGUSON, ESQ.
18
17
znferguson@robbinsrussell.com
19
18
19
20
20
21
21
22
22
Page 3
Page 5
I AP PEA RANCES (Continued)
1
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Good morning.
2
3
WILMER HALE LLP
2
We are going on the record at
Attorneys for Third-Party Defendant
3
approximately 10:07 a.m. on
4
JPMorgan Chase Bank
7 World Trade Center, 250
4
February 10th, 2021. This is media
5
Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10007
5
unit 1 of the video-recorded
6
(212)937-7294
6
deposition of Andrew Sturmfels taken
7
By MARISSA MEDINE, ESQ
marissa medine@wilmerhale com
7
in the matter of Blue Flame Medical
8
-and-
8
LLC versus Chain Bridge Bank, N.A.,
9
9
et al. and Chain Bridge Bank, N.A.
WILMER HALE LLP
10
1875 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
10
versus JPMorgan Chase Bank, N .A. filed
Washington, DC 20006
11
in the United States District Court
II
(202)663-6719
12
By
ALBINAS PRIZGINTAS, ESQ
12
for the Eastern District of Virginia,
albinas prizgintas@wilmerhale com
13
13
Alexandria Division, civil action
14
15
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
14
number l:20-cv-00658.
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
15
This deposition is being held
16
Attorneys for the Witness
455 Golden Gate Avenue
16
remotely via Zoom due to COVID-19
17
Suite 11000
17
restrictions. My name is Kimberly
San Francisco, California 94102
18
BY CARA PORTER, ESQ
18
Griffin from the firm of Veritext and
Deputy Attorney General
19
BRIAND WESLEY, ESQ
19
I am the videographer. The court
Deputy Attorney General
20
reporter is Dawn Matera, from the firm
20
SARAH L FABIAN, ESQ
Deputy Attorney General
21
of Veritext. All attorney appearances
21
22
22
will be reflected on the transcript.
2 (Pages 2 - 5)
212-267-6868
Veritext Legal Solutions
www.veritext.com
516-608-2400
Case 1:20-cv-00658-LMB-IDD     Document 130-18     Filed 05/06/21     Page 3 of 6 PageID#
1596

Page 206
1
the page number on that one, starts
2
with a PO?
3
MR. MADDEN: You got it.
4
Q.
Exhibit 109, and if you look at
5 the third page which ends in 493?
6
A
Mm-hmm.
7
Q.
This is the standard 204 form
8 we discussed?
9
A
Yes.
10
Q.
Are you generally familiar with
11 this form and its use?
12
A
I am. I am.
13
Q.
Is it a form you use regularly,
14 as part of your job responsibilities?
15
A
It's a form the state uses very
16 frequently. It's typically the
17 registration form for any vendor wanting
18 to do business with the state.
19
Q.
And you see these from time to
20 time in doing your job?
21
A
Ido.
22
Q.
Okay. If you look in box E-4,
Page 207
1 which is labeled "Paid Residential
2 Status," do you see that?
3
A
I do.
4
Q.
Do you have an understanding as
5 to what it means that this form is
6 checked off indicating that Blue Flame
7 Medical LLC is a California resident?
8
A
The language next to the
9 California resident box says, "Qualified
10 to do business in California or maintains
11 a permanent place of business in
12 California."
13
So generally meaning that
14 either the vendor is a California
15 business registered in the State of
16 California with the Secretary of state to
17 do business in California or registered
18 as out-of-state business wanting to do
19 business in the State of California.
20
Q.
Okay. And other than receiving
21 this form, which is signed, did you have
22 any reason to believe either of those
Page 208
1 things was true of Blue Flame Medical as
2 of March 25th, 2020?
3
A
I had no information before me
4 to indicate that it wasn't true.
5
Q.
We looked earlier today at the
6 wire transfer memo that you signed; do
7 you recall that?
8
A
I do.
9
Q.
I believe you testified, but
10 correct me if I have this wrong, that
11 either Mr. Kim or Ms. Shell could also
12 have signed that memorandum; is that
13 correct?
14
A
Mr. Kim could have absolutely
15 signed the memorandum, as he exceeds me
16 in the chain of command.
17
Q.
Okay.
18
A
I don't -- I can't, I don't
19 think either ofus would have let
20 Ms. Shell sign the agreement because it
21 wasn't her job function or purpose.
22
As a deputy director for
Page 209
1 administration, I am responsible for
2 fiscal matters. So my direct report
3 could take action, if I chose not to, but
4 a colleague that serves another function
5 with DGS wouldn't have the purview to do
6 that. It wouldn't be in their delegation
7 of authority.
8
Q.
Okay. Understood.
9
I believe you said earlier in
10 talking about this memorandum, that you
11 made the choice to sign the wire
12 transfer, and I am just wondering what
13 you meant by that?
14
A
Well, the document has my
15 signature on it, so ultimately, my
16 signature was approving the transaction,
17 was approving the transaction of funds
18 for the purpose of receiving the goods
19 that we're discussing today.
20
So any piece of paper I am
21 signing, I am making the choice that I
22 support the action being taken.
53 (Pages 206 - 209)
212-267-6868
Veritext Legal Solutions
www.veritext.com
516-608-2400
Case 1:20-cv-00658-LMB-IDD     Document 130-18     Filed 05/06/21     Page 4 of 6 PageID#
1597

Page 210
1
Q.
Okay. Is there a reason you
2 signed the wire transfer memorandum as
3 opposed to Mr. Kim?
4
A
It's my job.
5
Q.
Okay. That's a fair reason to
6 do it.
7
At the time you signed the wire
8 transfer memorandum, did you know that
9 Blue Flame Medical had existed for only
10 two days?
11
MR. WHITE: Objection to form.
12
A
I did not.
13
MR. MADDEN: What's the
14
objection, Pete?
15
MR. WHITE: Objection to form.
16
If you want me to be more specific,
17
calls for speculation and states facts
18
not in evidence.
19
MR. MADDEN: Okay.
20
Q.
I'll repeat the question, just
21 to make sure it's clear.
22
At the time you signed the wire
Page 211
1 transfer memo, did you personally know
2 that Blue Flame Medical had existed for
3 only three days?
4
MR. WHITE: Same objection.
5
A
I did not.
6
Q.
Is that something that you
7 would have liked to know?
8
MS. PORTER: Objection. Calls
9
for speculation.
10
A
Certainly in a transaction of
11 this size and complexity and risk, any
12 additional information on the company
13 would have been welcome.
14
Q.
At the time you signed the wire
15 transfer memorandum, did you know that
16 Blue Flame Medical had opened its bank
17 account only the day before?
18
A
I did not have that information
19 until I spoke to the Treasurer's Office
20 and my chief accountant the day of the
21 wire transfer.
22
Q.
And is that also the kind of
Page 212
1 additional information that would have
2 been helpful to know at the time you
3 signed the wire transfer memorandum?
4
MS. PORTER: Objection. Calls
5
for speculation.
6
A
Again, repeating my previous
7 response, any additional information on
8 the organization that we were doing
9 business with, based on the size of the
10 transaction, the complexity and risk,
11 would have been helpful in our decision-
12 making process.
13
Q.
Okay. Just a few more of these
14 style of questions.
15
At the time you signed the wire
16 transfer memorandum, did you know that
17 Blue Flame Medical owned no inventory of
18 N95 masks?
19
MR. WHITE: Objection to form.
20
A
My understanding is they were a
21 broker that had direct lines to
22 inventory. So I think we did have some
Page 213
1 understanding that the inventory was not
2 in their control at the point in time.
3
That was the purpose of needing
4 the funds up front.
5
Q.
Okay. At the time you signed
6 the wire transfer, did you know that Blue
7 Flame Medical had never delivered N95
8 masks to any customer?
9
MR. WHITE: Objection.
10
Misstates evidence.
11
MS. PORTER: Objection. Assumes
12
facts not in evidence.
13
A
I did not have that information
14 at the time.
15
Q.
You testified earlier about a
16 discussion that you had with Andre Rivera
17 about a call between Chain Bridge Bank on
18 the one hand and officials at the State
19 Treasurer's Office on the other; do you
20 recall that?
21
A
Ido.
22
Q.
Do you know whether Mr. Rivera
54 (Pages 210 - 213)
212-267-6868
Veritext Legal Solutions
www.veritext.com
516-608-2400
Case 1:20-cv-00658-LMB-IDD     Document 130-18     Filed 05/06/21     Page 5 of 6 PageID#
1598

Page 214
1 himself participated in that call?
2
A
The call with the State
3 Treasurer's Office and the bank?
4
Q.
Correct.
5
A
And by bank, I mean Chain
6 Bridge Bank.
7
Q.
Right.
8
A
I do not know.
9
Q.
I believe you testified earlier
10 that you, after speaking with Mr. Rivera
11 on March 26th, and communications with
12 Chain Bridge Bank, had a call with Daniel
13 Kim; is that correct?
14
A
That's correct.
15
Q.
Actually, I think you said you
16 called Director Kim immediately, right?
17
A
That is accurate.
18
Q.
And what do you recall saying
19 to Mr. Kim?
20
MS. PORTER: Objection to the
21
extent it seeks deliberative process
22
and official information.
Page 215
1
A
I related to Director Kim the
2 same information that had been shared
3 with me, that the bank had contacted both
4 our office and the Treasurer's Office and
5 expressed concerns for reasons that I
6 previously stated. And that the State
7 Treasurer's Office was looking for
8 confirmation that we wanted to continue
9 proceeding with the transaction, and that
10 I needed his or someone from the
11 administration's follow-up as soon as
12 possible so that I can relay that message
13 to him.
14
Q.
And is there anything else that
15 you recall telling Director Kim on that
16 telephone call?
17
A
No, not specifically.
18
Q.
Okay. You said that Mr. --
19 that Director Kim called you back roughly
20 an hour later. Do you remember that?
21
A
That's accurate.
22
Q.
Okay. And one of the things I
Page 216
1 believe you said Director Kim said was,
2 he asked you to hold off on the
3 transaction; do I have that right?
4
A
That's correct. My
5 understanding, when he called me back,
6 was that the morning's activities have
7 caused enough concern to want us to
8 reconsider moving forward. And that they
9 had not had time to fully deliberate on
10 what the next steps would be, but they
11 did not want to continue to proceed with
12 the wire transfer.
13
And ifwe had the opportunity
14 to pull it back, we can always reinitiate
15 it at a later time, ifwe chose to do so.
16
Q.
And I know you ultimately,
17 around the same time, learned that the
18 funds were already en route to the State
19 Treasurer's Office, right?
20
A
That's correct.
21
Q.
But what did you understand
22 Mr., Director Kim to be asking you to do
Page 217
1 when he asked you to hold off on the
2 transaction?
3
A
The direction that I believe I
4 received was to contact the State
5 Treasurer's Office and let them know we
6 were not interested in moving forward
7 with the transaction and to ask to have
8 the funds reverted.
9
Q.
Okay. Earlier today you
10 testified that -- I believe Mr. White
11 asked you if you could recall an instance
12 where warrants -- another instance where
13 warrants had to be walked back; do you
14 recall that question?
15
A
Ido.
16
Q.
And you testified that you
17 recalled an instance where, in the midst
18 of the pandemic, another vendor was
19 unable to deliver product. Do you recall
20 that?
21
A
Ido.
22
Q.
Tell me about that instance.
55 (Pages 214 - 217)
212-267-6868
Veritext Legal Solutions
www.veritext.com
516-608-2400
Case 1:20-cv-00658-LMB-IDD     Document 130-18     Filed 05/06/21     Page 6 of 6 PageID#
1599

File and source

File

gov.uscourts.vaed.477405.130.18.pdf

Size

88,326 bytes

SHA-256

e4a18147146805ff34fa2e0f7b07a6eaf9562ca88afb854efc4bcbe2043c7c99

Our copy

gov.uscourts.vaed.477405.130.18.pdf

Original

PACER (login required)