| Stuart Finkelstein Charged
For Fake ADA Suits Faced Trial now Pleads
Guilty, Sentence Nov 15
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
July 12 – Stuart Finkelstein
filed Americans With
Disabilities Act lawsuits in
the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York, allegedly without
actually representing or even
contacting his putative
clients.
On
December 3, 2019 Finkelstein
appeared in SDNY Magistrates
Court before Magistrate Judge
Barbara Moses on mail fraud
and aggravated identity theft
charges. He was allowed to
remain free on $150,000 bond
with travel restricted to
SDNY, EDNY the Southern
District of Florida and three
districts in or the entire
state of Tennessee.
Assistant United States
Attorney Rushmi Bhaskaran
proposed to also include the
District of New Jersey, but
Judge Moses said if this was
only to fly through the
airport in Newark, Finkelstein
should not "hang out" in New
Jersey. He agreed.
Judge Moses asked, Why
Tennessee. AUSA Bhasharan
replied that Finkelstein's son
live there. But in what
district? And why was the
underlying US Attorney for the
SDNY press release not sent to
or received by the Press?
In a November 25 letter to
Magistrate Judge Katharine H.
Parker, AUSA Bhashakan
corrected the complaint's
summary by Mason Posilkin of
the ADA based on information
she "provided to the former
U.S. Attorney's Office Special
Agent Posilkin (Mr. Posilkin
is leaving [the] Office to
join the FDIC)."
Apparently, now the law no
longer requires that to allege
past injury a plaintiff must
make some effort to visit the
public establishment that is
being sued. Inner City Press,
the only media in the Mag
Court when Finkelstein was
presented, said it would stay
on this - and has.
Jump cut to
September 2, 2021. Assigned
District Judge Paul G.
Gardephe said Finkelstein's
lawyer Brian John Griffin had
a conflict, and gave
Finkelstein until September 17
at 11:30 am to find another
lawyer. Then he requested a
financial affidavit.
On October 1 in a
proceeding that Inner City
Press once again covered,
Judge Gardephe approved
Finkelstein for a
taxpayer-funded lawyer, and
set the next conference for
December 3, with time under
the Speedy Trial Act excluded.
Jump cut again to
March 21, 2022, with
Finkelstein represented by CJA
counsel and now, if it does
not plead out, facing a trial
before Judge Gardephe on
October 11.Tick tock.
On July 12
Finkelstein pleaded guilty to
Count 1, before Magistrate
Judge James L. Cott. He will
be sentenced by Judge Gardephe
on November 15. From the plea
agreement: "the defendant will
not file a direct appeal; nor
bring a collateral challenge,
including but not limited to
an application under Title 28,
United States Code, Section
2255 and/or Section 2241, of
any sentence within or below
the Stipulated Guidelines
Range of 41 to 63 months’
imprisonment."
The case is
US v. Finkelstein,
21-cr-217 (Gardephe).
***
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