| Booth
Charged With Thai Stock Boiler Room Austin
Pled in Part I To Testify Next Week
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
Book
BBC-Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
NY
Mag
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
April 21 –
Robert Booth is on trial for
securities fraud, specifically
for his role in an indicted
boiler room conspiracy
involving Thailand, Cyprus and
elsewhere.
On April 18, U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge Jed
S. Rakoff presided over the
first day of Booth's trial.
Inner City Press was
there.
A witness with a
heavy Australian accent
described speaking by phone
with, and investing with, a
John Summers and a Robert
Miller.
He acknowledged
on cross examination he had
never seen, or to his
knowledge spoken with, the
defendant Robert Booth, a/k/a
Trevor Nicholas, sitting in
the courtroom.
Booth's lawyer
inquired into the witnesses
recent discussion with the
prosecutors, and if the US
Attorney's Office hadn't been
more interested in Robert
Miller than Robert Booth. This
gave rise to an objection,
which was sustained.
On April 19, the
Assistant US Attorney
conducted direct examination
of the HSI Special Agent who
arrested Booth at JFK airport
on August 26, 2021 and seized
his phone and IDs.
On cross
examination, Booth's lawyer
got the agent to admit the
phone and papers had been on
the table in front of Booth.
But Booth told the agent that
they were his, and the agent
said no one else could access
the secure interview booth.
Move on, Judge Rakoff said. He
kept it moving.
On April 20 in
court, another agent testified
about Cellebrite Premium,
saying it is $1000 a search
and his agency now has 25
machines.
Out of court,
this: "Minute Entry for
proceedings held before Judge
Jed S. Rakoff: Telephone
Conference without
transcription or recording as
to Robert Lenard Booth held on
4/20/2022. AUSA Andrew Jones
for the Government and Mindy
Bothe of Allen & Overy LLP
for defendant Jerome Austin
were present. The parties
informed the Court that Mr.
Austin was previously slated
to testify in the ongoing
trial pursuant to a
non-prosecution agreement, but
information subsequently
acquired by the Government has
led the parties to seek the
defendant's arraignment on and
plea to a superseding criminal
information on this docket. In
light of the trial schedule
and the parties' need to have
the plea taken before the
defendant's testimony
tomorrow, the Court refers the
arraignment and plea hearing
to a magistrate judge or to
the Part I judge."
On April
21, the first of two
cooperating witnesses
testified. The second, Jerome
Austin, did not appear in
Magistrates Court where Inner
City Press awaited to cover
his plea. Rather, he went before
the Part I Judge J. Paul Oetken
and was released on $50,000
bond with an August 23
sentencing before Judge Rakoff.
He will testify on Monday,
April 25.
Judge
Rakoff said closing arguments
may begin on the afternoon of
Tuesday April 26; he noted
that he will sit by
designation on the Second
Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday,
April 27 and so may begin the
trial (and closings) at 11 am
on that day.
Also in the air,
or at least the motions in
limine, is proffered evidence
of an earlier boiler room
operation. There are
co-defendant still awaiting
trial: Michael D'Urso, Alyssa
D'Urso, Antonella Chairamonte
and Jay Garnock.
This case is US
v. Booth, 21-cr-652 (Rakoff).
***
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