| In Panama Papers Case Von
Der Goltz Gets 48 Months Off Guideline of 94
Cried Over Beer
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Scope,
Podcast
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 21 – As the U.S. Panama
Papers prosecution of
accountant Richard Gaffey and
tax expatriate Harald Joachim
von der Goltz moved toward
trial, back on May 29 disputes
about suppressing files seized
from the accountant's office
and documents obtained from
Panama, Germany and elsewhere
overseas came to the fore. See
here.
On
February 28, 2020 Gaffey
showed up and pled guilty,
thread here.
In July, Harald
Joachim von
der
Goltz
filed a more
than 100 page
sentencing
submission,
and the US
Attorney's
Office has
asked for an
additional
week to
respond. The
memo has
sections on
"early
business
ventures in
Germany and
Guatemala"
(including the
brewery
Cerveceria del
Sur which was
stopped when a
competitor
bribed an
employee to
over-pasteurize
the brew) to
"Rain Forest
Adventures"
and how home
confinement
would be
enough.
On September
21, this: Harald
Joachim von
der Goltz was
sentenced to
48 months in
prison for
wire fraud,
tax fraud,
money
laundering,
false
statements,
and other
charges.
VON DER GOLTZ,
a former U.S.
resident and
taxpayer, was
charged along
with Ramses
Owens, Dirk
Brauer, and
Richard
Gaffey, a/k/a
“Dick Gaffey,”
in connection
with a
decades-long
criminal
scheme
perpetrated by
Mossack
Fonseca &
Co. (“Mossack
Fonseca”), a
Panamanian-based
global law
firm, and its
related
entities.
VON DER GOLTZ
previously
pleaded guilty
to the
charges, and
was sentenced
today by U.S.
District Judge
Richard M.
Berman." He faced 94
to 111
months.
Watch
this site.
From
February 28 on Gaffey:
including with a forfeiture
amount and order for notice
despite the Assistant US
Attorney saying that the only
victim is the IRS: "CONSENT
PRELIMINARY ORDER OF
FORFEITURE AS TO SPECIFIC
PROPERTY/MONEY JUDGMENT FOR
Richard Gaffey. IT IS HEREBY
STIPULATED AND AGREED, by and
between theUnited States of
America, by its attorney
Geoffrey S. Berman,United
States Attorney, Assistant
United States Attorneys, THANE
REHN and EUN YOUNG CHOI of
counsel, and the defendant,
and his counsel, WILLIAM
LOVETT, Esq. and ROBERT
BUEHLER, Esq., that As a
result of the offenses charged
in Counts Two and Three of the
Indictment, to which the
defendant pled guilty, a money
judgment in the amount of
$5,373, 609 in United States
currency (the "Money Judgment
"), representing the amount of
proceeds traceable to the
offense charged in Count Two
of the Indictment that the
defendant personally obtained
and the amount of property
involved in the offense
charged in Count Three of the
Indictment, shall be entered
against the defendant.
Pursuant to 32.2(b)(6) (A) of
the Federal Rules of Criminal
Procedure, the Government
shall send notice to any
person who reasonably appears
to be a potential claimant
with standing to contest the
forfeiture in the ancillary
proceeding."
Periscope
here,
Podcast here.
The plea agreement is for 94
to 111 months - how much less
than that will Gaffey get? The
sentencing is set for June 29
at 11 a.m.
Judge
Richard M.
Berman of the
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York asked
whether the
lawyer for
initially lead
defendant
Ramses Owens,
sitting on the
side of his
courtroom,
even had the
right to make
arguments.
Owens has not
been arraigned
or appeared in
the case.
From Panama,
using J.
Iandolo Law of
13th Avenue,
Brooklyn,
Owens is
disputing the
use of his
mobile phone
records
obtained under
the US -
Panama Mutual
Assistance in
Criminal
Matters
Treaty.
Assistant US
Attorney Eun
Young Choi
argued that
some of the
US' request
for
information
from other
governments
are covered by
diplomatic
privilege. She
said, however,
that
information
from and about
Germany will
be made
available to
the defendants
on June 7.
Judge Berman
set a motion
schedule
running into
August. The
lawyer for von
der Goltz said
he may file a
motion to
dismiss the
wire fraud and
money
laundering
counts
claiming that
no money ever
move through
wires. The
case is USA v.
Owens, et al.,
18-cr-00693
(Berman).
Inner
City Press
readers may
remember that
Patrick Ho was
found not
guilty on only
one of the
eight UN
bribery
charges
against him in
December 2018,
Chad money
laundering -
because the
money moved in
a gift box, in
cash, and not
through wires.
Watch this
site.
***
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