| In SDNY Correia and Kukushkin Plead
Not Guilty While Parnas Still In Custody No
Contact Inner City Press Asked Why
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Alamy
photos
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 17 – David Correia,
charged in a foreign donor
scheme, was presented in and
bailed out of U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York (SDNY)
Magistrates Court on October
16. On October 17 he and
co-defendant Andrey Kukushkin
were arraigned before SDNY
Judge J. Paul Oetken and both
pled not guilty.
The
government said discovery will
be extensive, involving more
than 10 e-mail accounts. They
will work on a protective
order and then begin "rolling
production." Judge Oetken set
the next court date for them
for December 2 at 2 pm, and
make the defendants' physical
attendance optional. (The
prosecutors said it would be
helpful to have them present.)
The two lead named defendants
in the case, Parnas and
Fruman, will appear before
Judge Oetken on October 23 at
11:30 am.
Kukushkin
was released on $1 million
bond secured by $100,000 cash
and $93,000 in property.
Parnas is still in custody in
the Eastern District of
Virginia, no able yet to meet
the bail conditions offered to
him. The prosecutor said he
will not be transported north
for the October 23 appearance
absent a new order and
revocation of unyet bail
condition. Judge Oetken didn't
issue such an order, to not
problematize Parnas efforts to
meet the conditions.
On October 16 one
of the conditions of Correia's
release was that he not have
contact with his co-defendants
without the presence of
counsel; his lawyer said in
court that he might ask to
revisit that.
Afterward
Inner City Press asked this
attorney Mr. Marcus of
Florida, pro hace vice
application pending, when and
why he would seek to revist
that condition, that was
imposed without objections on
other processed through and
bailed by the SDNY Mag court
before and after Correia.
"There is
a business relationship,"
Marcus replied, before
declining to say which Middle
East country it was Correia
has flown back from to
self-surrender. A bit later
he, Correia and a New York
based lawyer ventured out into
Worth Street in the rain and
photographers, running ahead
of them and into a black car
and away.
Here's
from the US Attorney's
description of the business
relations: "Beginning in or
around July 2018, PARNAS,
FRUMAN, CORREIA, and KUKUSHKIN
made plans to form a
recreational marijuana
business (the “Business
Venture”) that would be funded
by Foreign National-1, a
Russian national, and required
gaining access to retail
marijuana licenses in
particular states, including
Nevada (the “Business
Venture”). To further
the Business Venture, PARNAS,
FRUMAN, CORREIA, and KUKUSHKIN
planned to use Foreign
National-1 as a source of
funding for donations and
contributions to state and
federal candidates and
politicians in Nevada, New
York, and other states to
facilitate acquisitions of
retail marijuana
licenses.
In or about September and
October 2018, CORREIA drafted
a table of political donations
and contributions, which was
subsequently circulated to the
defendants and Foreign
National-1. The table
described a “multi-state
license strategy” to make
between $1million and $2
million in political
contributions to federal and
state political
committees. The table
also included a “funding”
schedule of two $500,000
transfers. Foreign
National-1 then arranged for
two $500,000 wires on or about
September 18, 2018, and
October 16, 2018, to be sent
from overseas accounts to a
U.S. corporate bank account
controlled by FRUMAN and
another
individual.
PARNAS, FRUMAN, CORREIA, and
KUKUSHKIN then used those
funds transferred by Foreign
National-1, in part, to
attempt to gain influence and
the appearance of influence
with politicians and
candidates."
Inner City Press
will continue to cover these
cases.
***
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