| US Marshals Took Month To
Fly Wire Fraudster Raji From Miami Not 10 Days
In 12 USC 3161(h)(1)(F)
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive Patreon
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Feb 7 – Mustapha Raji was
indicted for wire fraud in
December 2019 in the U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York.
The indictment
stated that Raji "received,
and aided and abetted the
receipt of, approximately $1.7
million in proceeds of a fraud
scheme via a wire transfer
from a bank in New York to a
bank accounts in Florida
controlled by a
co-conspirator."
Raji was arrested
on December 20 in Miami. But
it took 35 days from his to
arrive in New York. This
compares to anything more than
10 days being deemed
unreasonable in 12
USC
3161(h)(1)(F),
see below.
On January 22,
Assistant US Attorney Dina
McLeod wrote to assigned Judge
Jesse M. Furman asking that
time be excluded under the
Speedy Trial Act. Judge Furman
in a January 23 Order On
Letter Motion that is not in
PACER requested an explanation
for the delay in transporting
Raji to the SDNY.
On January
27 AUSA McLeod replied that
back on January 7, the US
Marshals Service entered a
removal request into the
Justice Prisoner and Alien
Transportation System,
JPATS.
She wrote, "In
order to be cost effective,
the USMS routes inmates
through central hubs, rather
than flying each inmate from
his or her original location
to his or her destination.
JPATS indicated that the first
flight available to the
defendant from Miami to
Oklahoma City (one of the USMS
hubs) was on January 22, 2020.
JPATS also indicated that the
next flight available to the
defendant from Oklahoma City
to the SDNY was scheduled for
February 4, 2020. According to
the USMS, this route was
chosen because it was the most
direct route between the
defendant's starting location
and the SDNY."
Inner City Press
was present in the SDNY
Magistrates Court when
Mustapha Raji was finally
presented before SDNY
Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn
on February 5, @SDNYLIVE
tweet here.
He was detained on consent,
set to finally appear before
Judge Furman on February 7.
Inner City
Press went to Judge Furman's
courtroom on February 7. Raji
had a new lawyer; Judge Furman
began by asking about the
delay, specifically as it
related to the Speedy Trial
Act.
AUSA
McLeod said that the Speedy
Trial Act clock only starts at
indictment; Judge Furman cited
12 USC 3161(h)(1)(F): "delay
resulting from transportation
of any defendant from another
district, or to and from
places of examination or
hospitalization, except that
any time consumed in excess of
ten days from the date an
order of removal or an order
directing such transportation,
and the defendant’s arrival at
the destination shall be
presumed to be unreasonable."
This was far more than ten
days.
We will
stay on this case. It is US v.
Raji, 19-cr-870 (Furman /
Netburn).
***
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