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SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 15 – The trial of US v. Weigand and Akhavan began before Judge Jed S. Rakoff in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 1. Inner City Press, which has been covering the case including its Wirecard aspects, live tweeted Day 1, here and below.

On March 9 it connected back up to the OneCoin crypto fraud - and the US has explained Hargreaves' phones.

And so on March 10, Inner City Press filed to get DOJ's most recent submission about Hargreaves unredacted, and exhibits. Both applications were granted by Judge Rakoff on March 15, here. Also on March 15, this:

Judge Rakoff has granted Inner City Press' application to unseal paragraphs about Hargreaves - now Patterson still on stand. He is talking about  Eaze's use, to conceal marijuana credit card charges, of different "MCCs" - codes, not the jail right next to SDNY courthouse.

Now Patterson is being cross-examined about an email he wrote, that he understood they wanted to avoid charge-backs but since they couldn't list  Eaze on the credit card charge, people disputing the charges was inevitable.

Update of 3 pm: Patterson still on the stand, being cross examined by Weigand's lawyer. Paterson smirks and says becoming interim CEO of  @Eaze  was not a promotion. Is describing European merchant banks as knowing the transactions were marijuana.

Now AUSA does re-direct of Patterson. Except Patterson doesn't remember what the AUSA is asking about, about trying to tell  Eaze's board of directors they should comply with the law in using cards for marijuana.

AUSA: Let me show you this Government exhibit...

Judge Rakoff tells the lawyers, This is an important witness, so I've given you latitude to drone on and on. But enough is enough. We're bogging down. Now some rulings on expert testimony. Inner City Press will be waiting for the exhibits and unredacted filings.

Judge Rakoff says a call he'll have this evening, he thinks it about assuring the Zoom appearance by expert does not allow photographing of juror. He says it should be OK, since at lawyer's office. Where there's a will, there's a way. 

  Inner City Press live tweeted from the March 12 proceedings, here:

now Eaze CEO Patterson is on the stand. AUSA Folly asks why he was disinterested - really, uninterested - in joining Eaze at first.

He: It seems risky. Just before letting the jury go for lunch, Patterson was asked if when Eaze's founder asking him to join he was interested or disinterested. Judge Rakoff noted that disinterested means, No financial stake in something.

 So  Eaze  ex-CEO, now cooperator, James Patterson is still on direct examination. He describes going to Ray Akhavan's place of work and that, I saw porn on the computer screens, I was surprised to see it in such a large room, then I went up to Ray's office.

Patterson: I was weird that Keith had us go to Ray's office, instead of him coming to us. He was supposed to be the vendor. He had an Alpha male type presence -- Defense lawyer: Objection to narrative. Now they're citing a government exhibit - we should get it

 AUSA Folly: What was your position then at Eaze? Patterson: I was CTO. But then there were allegations by employees against Keith and he stopped being CEO. He went to work with Ray. I became interim CEO of  Eaze . [He's pled guilty and is cooperating.]

 Patterson: The problem was, the credit card descriptor didn't say "Eaze." So it led to a lot of charge backs. We tried to reach out to people, even give refunds so they wouldn't initiate any charge-backs and tell their bank they had purchased marijuana

Patterson: It was decided not to list credit cards on Eaze's website - Visa or MC might have secret shoppers and come check out the site... We would use cookies and the descriptor websites could read them and redirect them to a billing page instead of landing page

Patterson: Keith had a non-disparagement clause. But he was in a bar in LA and he started saying how Eaze had a weak CEO.  Defense: Objection, hearsay. Judge Rakoff: I'll allow it. AUSA: You may continue. Patterson: I told Ray he had to stop dealing with Keith.

The jury is filing out. Judge Rakoff has another proceeding at 3:45. Still he urges the lawyers to think, Can it ever be reasonable to say, I don't care about this deception, I am happy making money. Would that be a reasonable banker?

  After Judge Rakoff held an oral argument in another case, he conducted a proceeding about prospective expert witnesses, who appeared by Zoom, including about the Cole memo. We'll have more on all this.

 On March 2, evidence began - and witnesses with immunity deals. (Tassone's immunity deal is now on Patreon, here). Inner City Press tweeted in Day 2, here.

  Day Four began with news, tweeted by Inner City Press, that a juror had tested positive for COVID, and ended with cooperator Oliver Hargreaves on the stand.

  Day Five, things took off. The remaining 13 jurors all tested negative and when Hargreaves testified, first about fake website for golf equipment and facial cream, he soon turned to the meat: Wirecard and Jan Marsalek, live tweeted thread below. Inner City Press has asked the US Attorney's Office to make available the exhibits, as is done in other cases. So far, nothing. Some live tweets from the thread, here and below.

On March 9, world's collided. Hargreaves on cross examination admitted he and his boss Gary Murphy had dealt with OneCoin crypto-Ponzi money launderer Gilbert Armenta, whom Inner City Press has covered, including exclusive reporting on Armenta's ongoing businesses. Inner City Press retweeted from the cross here and below.

  March 9 ended, after the jury left, with Judge Rakoff admonishing one of Weigand's lawyers not to himself testify, for example that "you left on a flight the same day you arrived") and not to tell the jury that the prosecution would be recommending Hargreaves' sentence to the judge. "That's now how it works in our District."

On March 10, Hargreaves was cross examined, then a Bank of America witness took the stand. Inner City Press live tweeted, here:

Defense lawyer: You used the code, Medical services 8099, for marijuana?

Hargreaves: We thought it was elegant. A consultant proposed it. Defense lawyer: In your second day as a cooperator, you told the US, It didn't work with Paynetics, correct?

Hargreaves: Yes.

Akhavan's lawyer: You told the agents, we tried to do marijuana delivery with Ray, right? Hargreaves: Yes. Akhavan's lawyer: And you didn't say, false, or misleading, or deceptive? Hargreaves: No, sir.

 Re-direct: AUSA: Mr. Hargreaves, part of your cooperation with the government was to give full access to your phones and ProtonMail, correct? Hargreaves: Yes.

 AUSA: Let's put up Government Exhibit 3604. Do you remember this, one of the websites your team designed for the  @Eaze  scheme? Hargreaves: A fictitious website. Ray and Ruben worked on it.

 AUSA: These fraudulent business plans were sent to EUprocessing at ProtonMail dot com - that was Ruben [Weigand], correct? Hargreaves. Yes.

Next witness in US v. Weigand / Eaze / Wirecard was long at Citibank, now at Bank of America, in "payments innovation." Not much time for questions - Judge Rakoff has another proceeding at 4 pm (which Inner City Press also covered.)

The BofA official says, "In the US, we do not do any kind of business with marijuana related businesses." Gov't offers exhibits 2410, 2411. Judge Rakoff: You may step down.

 Judge Rakoff suggests to government they trim their case by a day. Then defense urges that an agent witness tomorrow be trimmed, as not having personal knowledge of the documents.  Judge Rakoff: If you're not contesting authenticity, the janitor would get them in ...

The trial's done for day.

 And still none of the exhibits Inner City Press requested on March 8 and March 9 have been provided. Watch this site.

The case is US v. Weigand, 20-cr-188 (Rakoff).

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