| Italian Man
Charged With Literary Wire Fraud Had Bond
Secured by London Flat Now Cash
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
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BBC
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UK - Honduras
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Feb 1 – An Italian
man arrested on January 5 at
JFK airport was ordered
released on bond on January 6.
Inner City Press was there,
the only media in the
Magistrates Court of the U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
and live tweeted, here
and below. The US
Attorney had announced:
"an indictment
charging FILIPPO BERNARDINI
with wire fraud and aggravated
identity theft, in connection
with a multi-year scheme to
impersonate individuals
involved in the publishing
industry in order to
fraudulently obtain hundreds
of pre-publication manuscripts
of novels and other
forthcoming books.
BERNARDINI was arrested this
afternoon when he arrived at
John F. Kennedy International
Airport. He will be
presented tomorrow before
United States Magistrate Judge
Robert W. Lehrburger in
Manhattan federal
court."
On January 6
Inner City Press reported on
the detention of another
defendant as a felon in
possession of ammunition;
Bernardini, on the other hand,
was release. Thread here:
Bernardini is getting a publicly
funded Federal Defender. He pleads not guilty.
US is seeking his detention, saying he resides
in UK and is a risk of flight.
AUSA quotes Bernardini, upon his arrest
yesterday, saying, How can I be arrested here?
I am not a US citizen. Federal Defender says
Bernardini was arrested at JFK airport
yesterday with his long time partner Benjamin
Kaye, who is here in court. He works for
Kellogg's.
Federal Defender says Mr Bernardini's father
is flying to New York with cash; she mentions
$200,000. They could stay in the West Village
with electronic monitoring.
Now Bernardini's partner Benjamin Kaye
raises his offer to $300,000, secured by
London flat. Judge asks if he'd surrender his
passport.
Federal Defender: They're here on US
visa waiver program. Kellogg's would let him
work from NY for 2 months.
Judge: Could Mr Kaye put up the security
today? AUSA: It would have to involve
confession of judgment.
Federal Defender: He could be outfitted with a
GPS bracelet today
Judge: There are conditions for release.
I will release him on bond signed by Mr Kay
and Mr Bernardini's father, and a US
co-signer. Surrender passport for 2 months and
reside at [ ] West 13th Street, Apartment [ ].
Judge: Before release, they must sign the bond
and surrender passport. Seek or maintain
employment -
Federal Defender: He won't be allowed to work.
And the apartment is small.
Judge: I'll order a curfew, and he must notify
Pre-Trial if out for more than an hour.
On January 25,
Bernardini's request to secure his bond not
with Benjamin Kaye's apartment but cash was
approved. Notably, Bernardini's counsel said
he has been unable to find any U.S. co-signer.
And on February 1, a schedule was set:
The matter is
adjourned to April 5, 2022, at 2:00 p.m., for
a status conference. Speedy trial time is
excluded through April 5, 2022, in the
interest of justice, to allow for the review
discovery and to facilitate plea discussions.
The case is US
v. Bernardini, 21-cr-458 (McMahon)
***
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