Transcript of Detention Hearing — United States v. Benjamin Sakyi, Criminal No. 1:21mj52 (Dkt. 71-3, N.D. Iowa)
Summary
This transcript of a detention hearing in United States v. Benjamin Sakyi (E.D. Va., Criminal No. 1:21mj52), conducted by ZoomGov videoconference before Magistrate Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, was filed in Case 5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM as Government Exhibit 2. IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Michael Gentry testified that Donald Trosin sent $910,000 to accounts of Sakyi's businesses, Blue Flight Logistics LLC and NKB Enterprise LLC, and that Sakyi denied knowing Trosin. Gentry described cashier's checks payable to Fog Logistics, LLC and to a person charged in the Southern District of New York in a case that moved money to Ghana. On cross-examination Gentry agreed that Sakyi was not alleged to have taken part in Trosin's loan applications and had sent no money to Ghana. The government then argued that Sakyi is a flight risk with stronger ties to Ghana than to Iowa.
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
Full text
1
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
ALEXANDRIA DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA . Criminal No. 1:21mj52
.
vs. . Alexandria, Virginia
. February 23, 2020
BENJAMIN SAKYI, . 2:17 p.m.
.
Defendant. .
.
. . . . . . . . . . .
TRANSCRIPT OF DETENTION HEARING
BEFORE THE HONORABLE MICHAEL S. NACHMANOFF
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
(Via ZoomGov Videoconference)
APPEARANCES:
FOR THE GOVERNMENT: CHRISTOPHER R. COOKE, SAUSA
United States Attorney's Office
2100 Jamieson Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22314
FOR THE DEFENDANT: JOAN C. ROBIN, ESQ.
Law Office of Joni C. Robin PLLC
114 North Alfred Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
TRANSCRIBER: ANNELIESE J. THOMSON, RDR, CRR
U.S. District Court, Third Floor
401 Courthouse Square
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703)299-8595
Government
Exhibit
2
(Pages 1 - 40)
Case
20-CR-4066-LTS
(Proceedings recorded by FTR Gold electronic sound recording,
transcript produced by computerized transcription.)
Case
Case5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page11ofof4012(703)299-8595
OCR-USDC/EDVA
2
1 I N D E X
2
DIRECT CROSS
3
WITNESS ON BEHALF OF
4 THE GOVERNMENT:
5 SA Michael Gentry, Jr. 8 14
6
7
8
9 EXHIBITS
10 MARKED RECEIVED
11 GOVERNMENT'S:
12 No. 2 14
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Case
Case5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page22ofof4012(703)299-8595
OCR-USDC/EDVA
Gentry - Direct 8
1 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
2 THE COURT: Thank you. Very good.
3 And, Mr. Cooke, I assume you can see him, and you may
4 proceed.
5 MR. COOKE: Thank you, Your Honor.
6 DIRECT EXAMINATION
7 BY MR. COOKE:
8 Q. Special Agent Gentry, could you please just state and
9 spell (inaudible)?
10 A. I'm sorry, you cut off. Could you repeat that?
11 Q. Could you please state and spell your name?
12 A. Yes. Michael, M-i-c-h-a-e-l, Gentry, G-e-n-t-r-y.
13 Q. And how are you employed?
14 A. I am a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service,
15 Criminal Investigation.
16 Q. And how long have you been so employed?
17 A. Approximately almost seven years.
18 Q. And can you just describe briefly some of your duties in
19 your employment?
20 A. I conduct investigations involving violations of the --
21 Title 26, the Internal Revenue Code, as well as violations in
22 Title 18 related to the financial statutes.
23 Q. Thank you. And are you the primary agent assigned to the
24 matter in the court today?
25 A. Yes, I am.
Case
Case5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page83ofof4012(703)299-8595
OCR-USDC/EDVA
Gentry - Direct 9
1 Q. Okay. Thank you.
2 As part of your investigation into the defendant's
3 conduct, did you review documents relating to the defendant
4 (inaudible)?
5 A. Yes, I have.
6 Q. Could you please tell us the name of the two businesses,
7 the defendant's two businesses that you are aware of?
8 THE COURT: Mr. Cooke, I'm sorry to interrupt you,
9 but it's a little bit difficult to hear you, and it may be that
10 the audio on your device is breaking up. If there's a way to
11 be close to the device, that may help.
12 MR. COOKE: I'm also hearing, Your Honor, a little
13 feedback in the jail. I, I know we've had that before. It
14 echoes within the room and comes back to the microphone.
15 THE COURT: Mr. Sakyi, if you can press the mute on
16 your button? Very good, thank you. That will -- that should
17 help us.
18 Go ahead. You may proceed, Mr. Cooke.
19 MR. COOKE: Thank you, Your Honor.
20 Q. Special Agent Gentry, could you tell us the name of the
21 defendant's two businesses that you are aware of?
22 A. Yes. Blue Flight Logistics LLC and NKB Enterprise LLC.
23 Q. And did you review bank accounts and other financial
24 documents for those businesses in your investigation?
25 A. Yes, I did.
Case
Case5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page94ofof4012(703)299-8595
OCR-USDC/EDVA
Gentry - Direct 10
1 Q. Is Mr. Donald Trosin one of the individuals that you
2 identified had transmitted funds to the defendant's businesses?
3 A. Yes, he did.
4 Q. Approximately how much money did Mr. Trosin send to
5 accounts controlled by the defendant?
6 A. $910,000.
7 Q. Did the defendant ever tell you how or whether he knew
8 Mr. Trosin?
9 A. He stated he did not, did not know who Mr. Trosin was.
10 Q. And based on your investigation, is that consistent with
11 what the defendant told other individuals about his relationship
12 with Mr. Trosin?
13 A. No, it is not.
14 Q. What do you know that he said about his relationship with
15 Mr. Trosin to other individuals?
16 A. He represents other individuals, but Mr. Trosin had lent
17 money to, to Mr. Sakyi, and Mr. Trosin was holding some trucks
18 as collateral, and Mr. Sakyi was making monthly repayments of
19 $50,000.
20 Q. All right. In your investigation, did you observe any
21 instances in which the defendant or one of his businesses
22 transmitted funds to a Mr. [FA], or businesses controlled by a
23 Mr. [FA]?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Could you please describe those transactions?
Case
Case 5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page105 of
of 40
12(703)299-8595
OCR-USDC/EDVA
Gentry - Direct 11
1 A. From, from one bank account, one transaction involved two
2 $9,000 cashier's checks, and then another transaction was
3 conducted where a $40,000 cashier's check was purchased. Those
4 were both -- all three of those cashier's checks were payable
5 to Fog Logistics, LLC, and then in another bank accounts, it
6 was a 20- -- I believe it was a $23,160 cashier's check that
7 was payable to [FA].
8 Q. Okay. Are you aware of any charges against Mr. [A]?
9 A. Yes, I am.
10 Q. What, what do those charges involve? What do you know
11 about those charges?
12 A. He was indicted with a group of individuals in the
13 Southern District of New York for a money laundering
14 conspiracy, I think, and then wire fraud as well, and then
15 there were some additional charges as well.
16 Q. Did those charges involve large sums of money, and were
17 those, were those, those sums of money moved offshore?
18 A. Yes, that's my understanding.
19 MS. ROBIN: Your Honor, I'm just going to object to
20 the leading nature of the question. I recognize I'm a little
21 bit late on the uptake but --
22 THE COURT: All right. I'll overrule the objection,
23 but, Mr. Cooke, try and focus your questions in an appropriate
24 way.
25 MR. COOKE: Understood, Your Honor. Thank you.
Case
Case 5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page116 of
of 40
12(703)299-8595
OCR-USDC/EDVA
Gentry - Direct 12
1 Q. Agent Gentry, is -- do you recall any of the countries to
2 which money was moved in the indictment that Mr. [A] is
3 involved?
4 A. Yes. The money was moved to Ghana.
5 Q. Okay. Have you reviewed in your investigation any travel
6 records for Mr. Sakyi, the defendant?
7 A. Yes, I have.
8 Q. Could you explain or describe any recent travel that the
9 defendant has engaged in?
10 A. Yes. I want to say from -- I think he departed the United
11 States late November of 2020 and then returned to the United
12 States on December 16, 2020, and flew out of the United States
13 on December 18, 2020, and returned on January 17 of 2021.
14 Q. Okay. Thank you.
15 And in your investigation, did you see if the
16 defendant moved any funds overseas himself in any of his
17 transactions?
18 A. I do not recall any funds moving overseas in any of his
19 bank accounts.
20 Q. Or if not through his bank accounts, did he make any
21 transactions with cashier's checks or any other type -- types
22 of money transfers to individuals or entities in other
23 countries?
24 A. Yes. There were some cashier's checks that he purchased
25 that were payable to Sure Good Foods Ltd., which is a company
Case
Case 5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page127 of
of 40
12(703)299-8595
OCR-USDC/EDVA
Gentry - Direct 13
1 based out of Canada.
2 Q. Okay. Just one last set of questions. Special Agent
3 Gentry, I previously provided to the Court, to you, and defense
4 counsel a copy of an intake application, and that, that
5 document was an intake application for Blue Flight Logistics.
6 Did you see on that document who was, who was listed as the
7 owner?
8 A. Yes, I did. It was -- the owner was listed as [EAD].
9 Q. Okay. And you reviewed Virginia state records for Blue
10 Flight Logistics?
11 A. Yes, I did.
12 Q. Do you recall what year the Virginia state records reflect
13 that that company was created?
14 A. Yes. It was 2018.
15 MR. COOKE: Okay. Your Honor, I think those are the
16 only questions that the government has at this time. We would
17 move the document into evidence that's Exhibit 2. We previously
18 provided that to Your Honor and to defense counsel via e-mail
19 given the situation.
20 THE COURT: Thank you.
21 Ms. Robin, is there any objection to the admission of that
22 exhibit?
23
24 MS. ROBIN: No, Your Honor.
25 THE COURT: It will be admitted without objection.
Case
Case 5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page138 of
of 40
12(703)299-8595
OCR-USDC/EDVA
Gentry - Cross 14
1 (Government's Exhibit No. 2 was received in
2 evidence.)
3 THE COURT: And, Ms. Robin, you may cross-examine.
4 MS. ROBIN: Thank you.
5 CROSS-EXAMINATION
6 BY MS. ROBIN:
7 Q. Good afternoon, Agent. You indicated that Mr. Sakyi had
8 never sent any cashier's checks or wired any money from these
9 accounts to Ghana, correct?
10 A. That is correct.
11 Q. Okay. And the only, the only other country apart from
12 within the U.S. that money from his accounts are connected to
13 is the grocery store that is in Canada, correct?
14 A. Yes. There was a food (inaudible).
15 Q. And -- but Mr. Sakyi has never traveled to Canada,
16 correct, at least from what you can tell of your review of the,
17 of the travel documents?
18 A. That's correct.
19 Q. Okay. And the -- this money that you're talking about
20 that I guess is being exchanged allegedly among, among these
21 individuals, it originated from the fraudulent loan that
22 Mr. Trosin allegedly took out or a series of fraudulent loans
23 that Mr. Trosin allegedly took out, correct?
24 A. Yes. They were loans in Mr. Trosin's name, and then the
25 proceeds of the loan were deposited into his bank accounts.
Case 5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
Case 5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14 Filed
Filed02/25/21
71-3Anneliese J. ThomsonPage
07/06/21 Page149 of
of 40
12(703)299-8595
OCR-USDC/EDVA
Gentry - Cross 15
1 Q. Okay. But with his full knowledge. He was -- he's
2 allegedly a coconspirator who provided his information to
3 other -- to another individual in order for them to take out
4 these fraudulent loans, correct?
5 A. That is correct.
6 Q. Okay. And Mr. Sakyi is not alleged to have been involved
7 in the fraudulent loan application process involving
8 Mr. Trosin, correct?
9 A. That, that is correct.
10 Q. Okay. As I understand it from the affidavit, Mr. Trosin
11 met someone that's referred to as Individual 1, and that -- he
12 provided that person his identifying information, his bank
13 account information, and so forth in order to obtain these
14 loans, correct?
15 A. That's correct.
16 Q. Okay. And Mr. Sakyi is not Individual 1, correct?
17 A. Yes. That would be, that would be accurate.
18 Q. Okay. And Mr. Trosin also was -- so he was getting, I
19 guess, allegedly getting communications from an Individual 1
20 and Individual 2 about where to send these proceeds, correct?
21 A. That is correct.
22 Q. Okay. And Mr. Sakyi is not Individual 1 or 2, correct?
23 A. No. Not, not to our knowledge, no.
24 Q. Okay. And, in fact, law enforcement has seen, I imagine,
25 some sort of these texts where Individual 2 is communicating
Case
Case5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page 15
10ofof40
OCR-USDC/EDVA12(703)299-8595
Gentry - Cross 16
1 with Mr. Trosin and advising him, you know, what individuals
2 and what companies to send these proceeds to, correct?
3 A. Correct.
4 Q. Okay. And -- so to be clear, Mr. Sakyi owned two
5 businesses that received monies from Mr. Trosin, correct?
6 A. That's correct.
7 Q. But there are a number of individuals, several individuals
8 and companies that also received money from Mr. Trosin,
9 correct?
10 A. That's correct.
11 Q. Okay. And to be clear, Mr. Sakyi's wife is not on any of
12 the bank accounts connected to any of these loan proceeds,
13 correct?
14 A. Correct.
15 Q. Okay. She's not even an authorized signer on any of these
16 accounts, correct?
17 A. That's correct.
18 MS. ROBIN: The Court's indulgence?
19 Thank you. I have no further questions.
20 THE COURT: Thank you.
21 Mr. Cooke, is there any redirect?
22 MR. COOKE: No, I don't think so, Your Honor. No,
23 Your Honor.
24 THE COURT: Thank you.
25 Agent Gentry, you may step down, which means that you
Case
Case5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page 16
11ofof40
OCR-USDC/EDVA12(703)299-8595
17
1 may go back on mute, and you may turn off your video if you
2 wish to do so. Thank you.
3 THE WITNESS: Thank you, Your Honor.
4 THE COURT: Thank you.
5 (Witness excused.)
6 THE COURT: Mr. Cooke, does the government have any
7 other evidence it wishes to present with regard to detention?
8 MR. COOKE: No, Your Honor.
9 THE COURT: Thank you.
10 Ms. Robin, does the defense wish to present any
11 evidence with regard to the issue of detention?
12 MS. ROBIN: Your Honor, we have no evidence, just
13 argument.
14 THE COURT: Very good. Then I'll hear first from the
15 government. I'll hear your argument now.
16 MR. COOKE: Thank you, Your Honor. The government
17 believes that the preponderance of the evidence shows that the
18 defendant is a flight risk. To begin with, he appears to have
19 no ties to Iowa, and the question is whether the defendant will
20 appear in Iowa, where he's going to be charged and where his
21 hearings will be held, not whether he has ties to the Eastern
22 District of Virginia.
23 In fact, he has much stronger ties to Ghana than
24 Iowa, where he's being prosecuted. He spent almost two of the
25 past three months in Ghana, it sounds like. As Agent Gentry
Case
Case5:20-cr-04066-LTS-KEM
5:21-cr-04013-LTS-KEM Document
Document 14
71-3Anneliese
Filed
Filed02/25/21
07/06/21
J. ThomsonPage
Page 17
12ofof40
OCR-USDC/EDVA12(703)299-8595
File and source
- File
- gov.uscourts.iand.57859.71.3.pdf
- Size
- 750,615 bytes
- SHA-256
- 778e24067a4b32cecf86ab8de7d30f451ce896ca3a92e19b4c93fecb940dced1
- Our copy
- gov.uscourts.iand.57859.71.3.pdf
- Original
- archive.org