Court filing — United States v. Joshua Edwards Joint Status Report (Dkt. 318, M.D. Fla.)

Summary

Joint status report filed December 16, 2025 by the United States, through Gregory W. Kehoe, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, and defense counsel Andrew Searle and Corey Cohen, responding to the Court's order dated November 26, 2025 (Doc. 314). It states that Joshua Edwards is the only remaining defendant and that the pending charges are conspiracy to commit bank fraud (Count One), bank fraud (Count Two), false statement to a lending institution (Count Three), and visa fraud (Count Six). Defense counsel reports that the defendant has not accepted a plea offer and that counsel does not believe the defendant is capable of knowingly and voluntarily pleading guilty. The parties anticipate 5 days for trial and request a date on or after January 26, 2026, or a date in February 2026.

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“Court filing — United States v. Joshua Edwards Joint Status Report (Dkt. 318, M.D. Fla.).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/court-filing-united-states-v-joshua-edwards-joint-status-report-dkt-31-df8db86708/, SHA-256 f1918ffd89cbff1b4e460a08ea515f44acbd16032475cb92e0edadd1fff77e43.

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Case 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP Document 318 Filed 12/16/25 Page 1 of 5 PageID 1809

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v. CASE NO. 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP

JOSHUA EDWARDS

JOINT STATUS REPORT

The United States of America, by Gregory W. Kehoe, United States Attorney

for the Middle District of Florida, and counsel for the defendant, Andrew Searle,

Esq. and Corey Cohen, Esq., jointly file this status report in response to the Court’s

order dated November 26, 2025 (Doc. 314):

1. Case Status: On December 7, 2022, a grand jury returned a six-count

indictment against two defendants, Evan Edwards and Joshua Edwards. Joshua

Edwards is the only remaining defendant. 1 The pending charges against Joshua

Edwards include the following: conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of 18

U.S.C. § 1349 (Count One); bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344 and 2

(Count Two); false statement to a lending institution, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§

1014 and 2 (Count Three); and visa fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a) (Count

Six). The defendant’s initial appearance commenced on December 14, 2022, at

which time the defendant was ordered detained pending trial. Docs. 9, 21, 263, 267,

270. Competency proceedings were ongoing from December 14, 2022 through

1
The charges against Evan Edwards were dismissed. Doc. 254.
Case 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP Document 318 Filed 12/16/25 Page 2 of 5 PageID 1810

March 31, 2025, the date on which the U.S. District Court found that the defendant

had been restored to competency. Doc. 251. After Joshua Edwards was found

competent to proceed to trial, status conferences were held on April 8, 2025, May 13,

2025, and September 11, 2025. Doc. 257, 275, 304. The case is presently set for the

January 2026 trial term. Doc. 308.

Defense counsel further reports the following: Throughout the proceedings,

defense counsel has had significant and consistent difficulties substantively

communicating with Mr. Edwards. On numerous occasions, Mr. Edwards has

refused to meet with defense counsel. On those occasions where Mr. Edwards has

met with defense counsel, he has, for the most part, been unable or unwilling to

communicate in any meaningful way.

Based on the foregoing challenges, defense counsel Andrew C. Searle, Esq.

has had to file multiple motions to withdraw, which, this Court has denied. Docs.

146, 150-151, 252, 258, 264, 280, 285-286. Most recently, on July 17, 2025, the

Court appointed Corey Cohen, Esq. (“Mr. Cohen”) as co-counsel in this case,

pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A. Doc. 286. In doing so,

the Court found that “given the issues involved and the procedural posture of this

case, that this is an extremely difficult case, and that the interests of justice require

the appointment of co-counsel to assist Defendant throughout the remainder of this

litigation.” Id. Unfortunately, since Mr. Cohen’s appointment, Mr. Edwards has

continued to present difficulties with regard to his ability to communicate with

counsel. See Doc. 288.

2
Case 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP Document 318 Filed 12/16/25 Page 3 of 5 PageID 1811

On August 25, 2025, the Court held a hearing and denied Mr. Edwards’s most

recent motion seeking another competency evaluation. Docs. 296, 298.

2. Possibility of Plea: The government offered a plea agreement to Joshua

Edwards, which he has not accepted. On October 29, 2025, defense counsel met

with Mr. Edwards in an attempt to review the government’s plea offer, however,

defense counsel were unable to meaningfully review or discuss the plea agreement

with the defendant. Based on the foregoing, defense counsel does not believe the

defendant is capable of knowingly and voluntarily pleading guilty.

3. Number of Trial Days: The parties anticipate 5 days would be required

for trial. The parties respectfully request a trial date certain beginning on or after

January 26, 2026, or a date in February 2026.

4. Pending Motions: There are no pending motions.

5. Speedy Trial: From the date of the commencement of the initial

appearance in this case (December 14, 2022) through the date on which Joshua

Edwards was found by the U.S. District Court to be competent to proceed (March

31, 2025); and the time from April 8, 2025 through January 31, 2026 is “excludable

time” under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h). Thus, seven days of speedy trial have run (the time

between March 31, 2025 and April 8, 2025). As such, there are 63 days left on the

speedy trial clock.

WHEREFORE, the parties respectfully request a trial date in this matter

commencing no earlier than January 26, 2026 and accompanying deadlines for

3
Case 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP Document 318 Filed 12/16/25 Page 4 of 5 PageID 1812

pretrial motions as well as for filing proposed jury instructions, voir dire questions,

and a verdict form.

Respectfully submitted,

GREGORY W. KEHOE
United States Attorney

/s/ Andrew C. Searle By: /s/ Kara M. Wick
Andrew C. Searle, Esq. Kara M. Wick
Florida Bar No. 0116461 Assistant United States Attorney
SEARLE LAW P.A Florida Bar No. 0085578
200 East Robinson Street, Suite 1150 400 W. Washington Street, Suite 3100
Orlando, FL 32801 Orlando, Florida 32801
Telephone: 407-952-0642 Telephone: (407) 648-7500
Email: andrew@searle-law.com Facsimile: (407) 648-7643
Attorney for Joshua Edwards E-mail: kara.wick@usdoj.gov

/s/Corey Cohen
COREY COHEN, ESQ.
Florida Bar No. 657840 .
21 Park Lake Street
Orlando, Florida 32803
Telephone: 407-246-0066
Email: corey@coreycohen.com
Attorney for Joshua Edwards

4
Case 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP Document 318 Filed 12/16/25 Page 5 of 5 PageID 1813

U.S. v. JOSHUA EDWARDS Case No. 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on December 16, 2025, I electronically filed the foregoing

with the Clerk of the Court by using the CM/ECF system which will send a notice of

electronic filing to the following:

Andrew Searle
Corey Cohen
Attorneys for Defendant

/s/Kara M. Wick____________
Kara M. Wick
Assistant United States Attorney
Florida Bar No. 0085578
400 W. Washington Street, Suite 3100
Orlando, Florida 32801
Telephone: (407) 648-7500
Facsimile: (407) 648-7643
E-mail: kara.wick@usdoj.gov

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