After Banker Calk Pled Not Guilty
Inner City Press Fraud Qs to OCC Now SDNY
Sets June 21 Deadline
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video, Alamy
photos
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 30 – Steven M. Calk of
FDIC-regulated Federal Savings
Bank was presented and
arraigned on May 23 for
financial institution bribery
for corruptly using his
position with FSB to issue $16
million in high-risk loans to
Paul Manafort in a bid to
obtain a senior position with
the Trump administration,
namely Undersecretary of the
Army.
Back on
May 23 Magistrate Judge Debra
Freeman in the U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York accepted
the government's proposal of
$5 million bond with no
co-signer (although that is
usually required for moral
suasion) and travel allowed
throughout the United States
(though more defendants are
usually confined to the
Soutern and Eastern District
of NY and one other district).
Money talks.
Afterward
in front of the SDNY
courthouse Inner City Press
asked Calk's lawyers Daniel
Stein and Jeremy Margoles
about Manafort saying he had
misstated his financial
situation to get the FSB
loans. When did Calk know?
They did not answer. Video here,
Facebook video here.
Inner City Press' Alamy photos
here.
Now in May
28 letter to District Judge
Lorna G. Schofield, the
government has requested the
motions directed of their
indictment of Calk be filed by
July 12. Judge Schofield
granted it only in part,
saying that by June 21 Calk
"shall file a pre-motion
letter with a briefing
description of any motion(s)
he intends to file." While the
OCC has yet to sufficiently
answer, and is trying to
hinder Inner City Press'
reporting, we will stay on
this case.
On May 23,
still from the SDNY courthouse
covering other cases including
one involving the death
penalty, Inner City
Press reported
finding no U.S. Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act data for
"Federal Savings Bank." But
there's more.
The Federal
Savings Bank's website,
while providing a generic link
to the FDIC, and a statement
"Member FDIC," has no link for
the U.S. Community
Reinvestment Act. (Nor does it
mention the indictment of
Stephen Calk, simply listing
his brother John Calk now as
CEO and Vice Chairman. Who is
the chairman?)
It lists a
loan production office on
Avenue J in Brooklyn, and two
deposit taking braches in
Illinois. Did it see some
exemption from the CRA and
other consumer protection
laws? From fair lending laws?
Earlier on
the morning of May 24 Inner
City Press asked the FDIC,
"Having covered yesterday's
arraignment of the Chairman of
The Federal Savings Bank in
the SDNY courthouse, including
the FDIC's involvement, I
checked the bank's website and
found "Member FDIC" but no
mention of the Community
Reinvestment Act."
The FDIC's
spokesperson David Barr, to
his credit, responded quickly,
writing to Inner City Press:
"The Federal Savings Bank,
Chicago, is regulated by the
Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency. They would be
responsible for CRA and
regulatory oversight. You
should contact the OCC for
more information."
Now the
OCC under Comptroller Joseph
Otting has done everything
possible to block the release
of information, denying FOIA
fees waivers and expedited
treatment, refusing comments.
But for now online the OCC has
said this about The Federal
Savings Bank: "While TFSB
originated a substantial
majority of its loans outside
of its AAs; the bank’s
business strategy is to
operate as a mortgage banking
entity with a nationwide
presence and market place.
Taking the bank’s business
strategy into consideration
the bank’s performance under
this lending criterion is
deemed reasonable."
Reasonable? Bribery, too,
seems to have been part of its
business strategy, right under
the nose of the OCC of Otting.
Before 2
pm on May 24 Inner City Press
in writing asked Otting's OCC:
"This is a Press question for
the OCC, from Inner City
Press... Please confirm that
The Federal Savings Bank is
subject to HMDA, and/or if it
is below a threshold, as I can
find no data in its name on
FFIEC.gov. Also, please today
provide as an OCC response to
the Press this OCC-regulated
bank's CRA public file and
other information in the OCC's
possession concerning the
bank's CRA and fair lending
performance. Is it
normal for a bank not to
mention these things on its
website, nor to provide any
link to its actual regulator,
the OCC, but only to the
FDIC?
Please explain what steps the
OCC is taking beyond Stephen
Calk no longer being the CEO.
What about his brother?"
More than
three hours later, even to the
questions at the end, the OCC
had only provided this:
"We are reviewing your
questions, but we may not be
able to respond by your
deadline.
Regards,
Stephanie
Stephanie Collins
Manager, Media Relations
Public Affairs
Operations Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency."
This is the same OCC which has
delayed FOR MONTHS providing
basic information about a
merger it has now already
rubber stamped.
On the
morning of May 28 Inner City
Press received from the OCC a
statement that The Federal
Savings Banks is subject to
HMDA - how they are listed in
the HMDA database remains a
question - and this:
"Question: Is it normal
for a bank not to mention
these things [CRA and HMDA] on
its website, nor to provide
any link to its actual
regulator, the OCC, but only
to the FDIC? [OCC
answer:] This question is best
directed to the bank."
So wait:
Otting's OCC leaves it
entirely up to the banks it
ostensibly regulates whether
to mention on their website
and presumably branches CRA,
HMDA or even the OCC where
consumers could complain?
We'll have more on this.
Stephen
Calk was quoted,
at least in 2012, opposing
regulation: "As Mr. Stephen
Calk writes in the September
7, 2012 edition of Origination
News: “Basel III is designed
to level the playing field
among major banking
institutions that operate
internationally. Force-feeding
these same rules to community
banks in the United States is
unnecessary and in fact
counter-productive,
particularly in the current
economic environment.” Basel
III is one thing. But no
Community Reinvestment Act?
The Federal
Savings Bank lists locations -
and bankers - in
Arizona - Scottsdale
California - Irvine Colorado -
Fort Collins Delaware -
Selbyville Florida - Sarasota
Illinois - Chicago Illinois -
Lake Forest Illinois - Oak
Brook Illinois - Park Ridge
Indiana - Bloomington Indiana
- Indianapolis Kansas -
Overland Park Louisiana -
Laplace Maryland - Annapolis
Maryland - Timonium CD
Massachusetts - Lawrence New
Jersey - Hackensack New Jersey
- Lakewood New York - Brooklyn
New York - Melville New York -
New York New York - Queens
North Carolina - Raleigh Ohio
- Columbus Rhode Island -
South Kingstown Tennessee -
Nashville Virginia -
Alexandria Virginia -
Fredericksburg Virginia -
Newport News Virginia -
Richmond Virginia - Vienna
Virginia - Warrenton...
We'll have more on this.
In the
indictment press release, FDIC
OIG Special Agent-in-Charge
Patricia Tarasca said,
“Today’s indictment charges
Stephen Calk with misusing his
position as Chairman and CEO
of a bank for his own personal
gain. The FDIC Office of
Inspector General remains
committed to investigating
cases where bank officials
cause multimillion-dollar
losses to a financial
institution and undermine its
integrity.” (The FDIC stands
to be the lead regulator of
BB&T whose money
laundering enforcement action
was just terminated by the
Federal Reserve to facilitate
merger with Suntrust, click here
for that and Inner City Press'
FOIA request and appeal.)
The
indictment was unsealed the
day after President Donald J.
Trump lost his bid to stay the
House of Representatives'
subpoenas to two other banks,
Capital One and Deutsche Bank.
After the May 22 ruling in Trump
v. Deutsche Bank by SDNY
Judge Edgardo Ramos, Trump
lawyer Patrick Strawbridge
headed to the elevators in the
windowless lobby outside the
courtroom.
He was
disinclined to comment and
even take questions from the
press. When reporters got on
the elevator with him, he got
off, saying sacrastically but
not bitterly, Much as I'd like
to be asked questions in the
elevator...
Downstairs in front of the
Thurgood Marshall courthouse
there were demonstrators will
a long Impeach Trump banner
and the small black Congress
Has A Right To Know signs,
three of which had been
quickly raised in the
courtroom, and just as quickly
taken down when Judge Ramos
requested it.
The SDNY
Court Security Officers spoke
to the sign holders but did
not eject them, during the 10
minute recess Judge Ramos took
to put the finishing touches
on his 25-page decision.
TV
crews from CNN and Univision
were set up across the street,
and a gaggle of photographers
set up on the sidewalk to wait
for Strawbridge and the House
of Representatives' lawyer
Douglas Letter. As time
passed others passing the
courthouse, and coming out of
it, stopped to ask as so often
happens, Who are you waiting
for?
While few had heard of
Strawbridge and the House
lawyer named Letter, the
mention of Trump drew a range
of reactions. The sight of
long lens cameras -- Inner
City Press had this day
retrieved it, from the
seemingly overflow Press Room
in the basement of 40 Foley
Square -- attracted others
with cases in the SDNY.
Accompanied by a trio of
children in wheelchairs on a
day when the disabled entrance
on Pearl Street to the
Thurgood Marshall courthouse
was closed were lawyers in Abrams
et al v. Carranza,
one in a series of Federal
lawsuits against campaigning
NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio's
Education Chancellor RIchard
Carranza. They had a flier and
expressed hope that SDNY Judge
Alison Nathan would, as
indicted, issue a ruling in
their case within the week.
Other
litigatants were less media
savvy or directed. Those in a
criminal trial before Judge
Vernon Broderick admitted the
case made it hard for even
them to stay awake -- Inner
City Press has tried several
times -- but noted that the
U.S. Attorney's office
promotes the prosecution each
morning in an e-mail.
The
plaintiff side in an
employment discrimination
trial in front of Judge
Valerie Caproni came out (the
defense may have been less
willing to approach the
press), then Judge Broderick
himself, down to earth as
ever. It was growing late.
To put its
camera back in the 40 Foley
press room, Inner City Press
climbed the stairs only to be
told, We close at five.
Explaining that there is a
Press Room next to the
cafeteria and that the Trump
case had done later was at
first to no avail. Finally a
supervisor was called who did
not acknowledge any right to
enter, but said he would allow
it this one time. We may have
more on this: even in the
small strokes, press access
rights are important,
particularly in a courthouse.
Earlier, before
issuing his ruling Judge
Edgardo
Ramos had
asked the
lawyers for
the two banks
that got the
subpoenas,
Deutsche
Bank and Capital One, if
they wanted to
speak. They
did not. This
even as House
counsel Strawbridge
detailed
Deutsche
Bank's long
history with
money
laundering
(and theft
during the
Holocaust,
which didn't
come up).
Capital One is
a rough,
too, on
predatory auto
lending and
the Community
Reinvestment
Act. But the
banks lay low.
Now
under Judge
Ramos' 25-page
ruling, the
banks become
required to
respond to the
subpoenas
in seven days,
on May 29. That's
the time
during which
the House has
agreed
not to enforce
the subpoena,
and the time
during which
Trump's
lawyers seem certain to
file an appeal
and ask again
for a stay
from the Second Circuit
Count of Appeals higher
up, in both
senses, in 40
Foley Square.
Earlier still in
the May in the SDNY,
Congressman Christopher
Collins (R-NY) waived his
right to be present for a May
3 hearing in the criminal
insider trading case against
him held past 5 pm in the SDNY
courtroom of
Judge Broderick.
On May 10, Judge
Broderick
started on
l'affaire
Collins at 2
pm, after a
case against
BuzzFeed
(Inner City
Press coverage
here).
Early in
the
proceeding,
before two
shackled inmates
were led in leading
to a brief
suspension of
the white
shoe SEC
Congressman
matter, Broderick
made a joke
about Donald
Trump and
evasive legal
moves. I'm not
going there, said
one of the
participants in
Collins, who was an
early endorser
of Trump.
Broderick
said, "I
should have either
- but it is
what it is."
Three hours
later, during
which Inner
City Press in
full
disclosure
went one story
down in the courthouse
to cover
a Fatico
hearing about
threats in the
MCC, Judge
Broderick
was setting
the time for
Collins'
lawyers to
make motions.
He arrived
on four weeks
after he rules
on discovery, with
the SEC to
provide
whatever he
directs to the
defense one
week after the
ruling. I'm
not saying
you're going
to get anything, Judge
Broderick
said. Collins'
lead lawyer
said he is a
optimist. More on
Patreon;
watch this
site.
Collins' team
of lawyers
have made a
slew of
suggestions to
Judge
Broderick on
what discovery
to seek from
the U.S.
Attorney's
office, from
communications
with the SEC
to information
about real
estate,
Cameron
Collins and
Lauren Zarsky
and their
sales of
Immunotherapeutics
stock after
MIS416, aimed
at secondary
multiple
sclerosis,
failed the
Drug Trial and
Rep Collins
made his calls
from the White
House
Congressional
picnic.
On May 3 Judge
Broderick was
urging wide
disclosure by
the
government,
whether
characterized
as 3500
material or
under Brady or
Giglio. The
notes to be
produced, he
said, didn't
have to been
entirely
contemporaneous.
He
had a series of
questions for
the U.S.
Attorney which
he did not get
through as it
approached 6
p.m. and his
courtroom deputy
had gone for the
day.
Collins' lead
lawyer from
BakerHostetler,
Jonathan R.
Barr, directed
Broderick to a
decision by
SDNY Judge Jed
Rakoff during
the Gumpta
case, and
Broderick said
that he would
read it. He
confessed he
had himself
looked up
applicable
cases on
Westlaw,
adding that he
might have
missed some
cases.
This case
is USA
v. Collins, et
al.,
18-cr-00567
(VSB). More on
Patreon,
here.
Judge
Broderick told
Collins'
lawyers to
expect to come
back in a
week's time on
Friday, May
10. One of
them said he
would only be
returning to
the United
States that
morning;
another said
that he then
would be
leaving for
the same place
his colleague
had been:
Argentina.
Thus
is big money,
and big
politics, law
done in the
SDNY.
One
story down and just two days
before but as if in another
universe on May 1 defendant
Jesus Lopez walked into the
SDNY courtroom of Judge
Valerie E. Caproni to be
sentenced on May 1 for driving
10 kilograms of cocaine from
California to New York.
He was
wearing a suit; he had been
allowed out on bond while
awaiting sentencing due to his
mother having Stage Four
cancer. Before the sentencing
he uploaded a video directed
at Judge Caproni but still
online as of this writing on
Vimeo, here.
The
courtroom was full, with two
U.S. Marshals in the back row,
and the two front rows, Inner
City Press was later informed
by a participant in the
proceeding, filled by judges
from China. Lopez' lawyer Jeff
Greco argued in his sentencing
submission for time served,
essentially one month.
But Judge
Caproni, after asking
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan
Rhen why the government wasn't
seeking forfeiture of the
truck Lopez used to drive the
drugs - "there's a lot of
equity in there," she said --
looked sternly at Lopez.
Judge Caproni was not
impressed by Lopez' statement
that he took drugs because he
was bored, that boredom was
one of his triggers. She said
she did not believe that he
had only agreed to drive the
drugs in order to feed his own
habit. First she sentenced him
to 60 month, five years, in
prison.
Then as
the U.S. Marshals rustled in
the row behind Inner City
Press, she said she would be
remanding Lopex into custody
today. Right now. Her
courtroom deputy handed the
Marshals an order to that
effect.
Defense attorney Greco said
that Lopez' mother could die
at any time, and that the
Bureau of Prisons would be
unlikely to let him out to
attend her funeral. Judge
Caproni said there was no way
to know when his mother would
die, and that she had allowed
him to remain out on bond
pending sentencing so he could
spent time with her. The
Chinese judges sat as Jesus
Lopez took his wallet out of
his pants and put his hands
out for shackling.
A well known
courtroom
artist in the
SDNY has told
Inner City
Press about
the time she
managed to
sketch a
similar remand
of a higher
profile
defendant,
Bernie Madoff.
But there was
no artist
present for
the remand of
Jesus Lopez,
and cameras
are not
allowed - only
this article.
The case is U.S.
v. Lopez,
part of the
larger
conspiracy
prosecution U.S.
v. Soto et al.,
18-cr-00282
(Caproni).
Notably one
floor above in
40
Foley Square,
a man who pled
guilty to
stealing $7
million in
Medicare and
Medicaid fraud
has had his
sentencing
delayed for a
year already,
and perhaps
another year,
so that his
wife can
finish a
medical
residency
program. That
case is U.S
v. Javed,
16-cr-00601-VSB.
Unlike the
unpublicized
case of Jesus
Lopez,
the Office of
the US
Attorney for
the SDNY
announced the
Javed
sentencing to
the press (but
not its
subsequent
deferral).
Click here
for that
story.
Which approach
is the right
one? How can
these
disparities be
explained?
These are
among the
questions that
Inner City
Press will be
pursuing, in
the SDNY.
Watch this
site, and the
new @SDNYLIVE
Twitter feed.
Background: Even
in Judge Caproni's courtroom,
there are more positive or
lenient stories. When Todd
Howe, who pled guilty in the
New York State corruption
case(s), came up for
sentencing on April 5, Judge
Caproni was
told that Howe
is now working
more than 12
hours a day in
Idaho, on ski
slopes and now
a golf course.
After his
guilty plea he
had been
remanded to
the
Metropolitan
Correctional
Center when he
disputed to
Capital One
some credit
card charges
and the
government
believed it to
be another
attempted
fraud.
With
him out of MCC
for seven
months, Judge
Caproni said
it may have
just been a
mistake. She
put off
sentencing
Howe, instead
putting him on
five years
probation. If
he "stays
clean" during
that time, it
all goes away.
If not, he
faces serious
time.
In the
elevator down
after Howe's
lawyer, in
what she
called her
last criminal
sentencing,
said Howe
still respects
government
service after
his lobbying
career
meltdown,
Inner City
Press asked
Howe what he
thought for
example of
congestion
pricing. He
laughed and
said it is not
needed in
Idaho.
Meanwhile a
shackled
prisoner Jones
was led into
Judge
Caproni's now
empty
courtroom to
plead guilty
to selling
crack in The
Bronx and
hiding a gun
after a 1999
felony
conviction.
That
sentencing is
set for August
1. Inner City
Press and @SDNYLIVE will be there.
***
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