| In Eaze and
Wirecard Trial of Weigand and Akhavan Bid
to Exclude Hargreaves Phone Info
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Podcast
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
March 8 – 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 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, below.
Now on
March 8, a request to exclude
information from the devices
Hargreaves had when he was
arrested and began cooperating
has been filed, including "On
Sunday, March 7, 2021, the
government produced a subset
of the iPad material that it
represented to be the unique
material from the iPad, which
the defense continues to
review. That same day, the
government also produced
additional 3500 material for
Mr. Hargreaves that indicated
the phone may have been
[REDACTIONS]
"It is now
abundantly clear that those
communications almost
certainly do not provide a
full record of the
interactions between Mr.
Hargreaves and others
implicated in the scheme
because the government did not
take any steps to preserve Mr.
Hargreaves’ communications at
the time, nor did it disclose
that failure to preserve until
now." Full letter on Patreon here.
From Day 4: US v
Weigand & Akhavan, it's
Day 4 - Judge Rakoff says,
"That's why we have alternate
jurors... We'll space them
further apart today." Now
cross examination of
MasterCard.
Now Judge Rakoff
is asking the lawyers "How
will the jurors know" - what
the codes uses in place of
marijuana code (which the
credit card companies didn't
and don't have) mean. Others
have now reported the female
juror with positive COVID
test.
The trial
continues now cooperator
Oliver Hargreaves takes the
witness stand in
@Eaze - and #Wirecard? -
trial. Q: Were you arrested in
NYC? A: Yes, for extortion...
bank fraud...
AUSA: Do
you recognize anyone in the
courtroom? Hargreaves: Yes.
Ray Akhavan. & Ruben
Weigand. AUSA: What was your
role in the scheme?
Hargreaves: To source
acquiring banks willing to
process for fraudulent
businesses. Then I was put in
charge of fraudulent packs
AUSA: What was
Ray Akhavan's role?
Hargreaves: He was my client.
He had a relationship
with Eaze . Mr. Weigand
was the operations manager.
Judge
Rakoff: This might be a good
time to break for the day. The
witness may step down. Ladies
and gentlemen, you are about
to have a three day weekend.
Don't Google anything about
the case, or look at any media
about it. You will all be
COVID tested on Monday
Judge Rakoff, to
the lawyers: I will be
teaching virtually at Berkeley
Law School because, you know,
I am so bored with this trial
[joking.] So I can't rule on
what you submit until
Sunday.
From Day
3:
Defense lawyer:
It was Eaze 's policy to
"not touch the plant." But now
the subsidiary does, right?
Witness: Right.
Defense lawyer:
At that time, you had delivery
drivers who had to check IDs?
Witness: These
were the dispensaries'
drivers.
Now
questioning turns to why the
witness switched from GroupOn
to Eaze...
Jury is just
back. Now it's re-cross of the
same witness, Tassone. Now
Tassone, again, refers to his
conversation with Eaze 's
former CEO Jim Patterson - who
beyond an immunity deal like
Tassone's has pled guilty as a
cooperator, 5K1
Next witness:
John Verdeschi. He has worked
at MasterCard since 1999.
Judge
Rakoff asks the defense is
they want to begin cross
examination for 10 minutes, or
start tomorrow. Defense: We
need to address a document
first. Judge Rakoff lets the
jury go.
Judge
Rakoff: Some of this document
should be redacted. We're down
to the question, is this
timely or not?
Defense: It's
from Feb 2020. But it reflects
the policy of MasterCard from
before. It's consistent with
that we've heard from the
witness today.Judge Rakoff: So
it will depend on what the
witness says. If he says it
reflect past policy, I'll
admit it. If not, I may not.
You can ask in front of the
jury. Inner City Press
@innercitypress · 4h Defense:
The Government will be calling
Oliver Hargreaves... Judge
Rakoff: I've never heard
*that* name. [Laughs] Defense:
Or Ollie, as he prefers. They
may put on another witness
before. Judge Rakoff: They
have up to 6 pm to make
alterations.
Now
Akhavan's lawyer asks for an
order to bring his client a
sandwich for lunch in lockup.
Judge Rakoff:
What kind? Does it contain
cannabis? [Laughs.] Yes you
can bring in a sandwich.
Adjourned.
Later on
March 2, the US Attorney's
Office has filed with Judge
Rakoff seeking to "Preclude
Cross-Examination of CW-1
about Weigand's May 2019
Statement." Full filing on
Patreon here.
From March 2:
Jury is not yet in the
courtroom. Judge Rakoff is
ruling on objections, in this
case to 1st witness, alleged
co-conspirator from
"Wildflower." Defense
objection: hearsay and
relevance. Overruled.
Defense:
Hearsay within hearsay. Judge
Rakoff: Not offered for its
truth. So, overruled... The
juror said he'd be at Grand
Central by 9:30, which would
have put him here by now. But
he's not. This might take a
while.
Update:
while now at 11:40 the lawyers
are milling around the
courtroom, the first witness
(from Eaze ) described
operations around 2015, home
delivery of pot for cash, then
the transition to taking
cards. When asked, he said he
has a Freedom card from Chase
Bank
Update: Things
are plodding along, witness in
Plexiglass box being asking
about his emails to
EUprocessing at protonmail
about charge-backs.
Finally:
cross-examination. Q: Isn't
one of your goals to
have @Eaze come
out of this going well?
Witness: Yes. I
work for them. Those I'm paid
by Stacks. I have stock
grants. They are options. They
have vested but I have not
purchased them.
Q: On
direct you said you believed
you were a participant in a
scheme to commit bank fraud.
But delivering marijuana is
legal? Judge: End in 2
minutes.
Defense: I have
six questions. Is selling
marijuana legal? A: In
California. Not in the eyes of
the US.
Q: Is it legal if
they pay with a debit card? A:
Yes it is.
Q: But not with a
credit card?
A: That is my
understanding.
Defense: We can
take a break.
Judge Rakoff:
We've off to a good start.
Inner City
Press will stay on the case.
For now, a summary: "ORDER as
to Ruben Weigand, Hamid
Akhavan: ORDERED that,
pursuant to Title 18, United
States Code, Sections 6002 and
6003, TASSONE give testimony
and provide other information
as to all matters about which
he may be questioned in United
States v. Hamid Akhavan, et
al.; and IT IS FURTHER ORDERED
that, pursuant to Title 18,
United States Code, Sections
6002 and 6003, no testimony or
other information compelled
under this Order, or any
information directly or
indirectly derived from such
testimony or other
information, may be used
against TASSONE in any
criminal case, except a
prosecution for perjury,
giving a false statement, or
otherwise failing to comply
with this Order. This order
shall become effective only if
after the date of this Order
TASSONE refuses to testify or
provide other information on
the basis of his privilege
against self-incrimination.
(Signed by Judge Jed S. Rakoff
on 3/2/2021)"
Tassone's full
immunity deal on Patreon here.
From Day 1, March 1: Assistant
US Attorney: You're going to
hear a lot about a company
these two men were lying for.
It is called Eaze . It
is a marijuana company. It
marketed itself as the Uber of
pot. But it wanted its
customers to be able to use
credit cards. But it had a
problem
AUSA: These
purchases are still illegal
under Federal law. So these
two men offered to trick US
credit card companies and
banks. They lied. They created
layer upon layer of lies.
AUSA:
You're also going to here
about credit card
networks. Visa and
MasterCard are at the center.
They set rules that banks have
to follow. The merchants work
with merchant banks. Then you
have card-holder or issuing
banks. You might have a BofA
card, or Wells
AUSA: They
claimed they were selling
organic face cream. But it was
a lie. Step 3 - the defendants
hid transactions in the VISA
and MasterCard network.
The goal was to prevent the
banks from understanding the
true nature of the
transactions.
AUSA: The
card holder banks wanted to
know who they were doing
business with. But they were
tricked, for transactions
worth at least $150 million.
That is the scheme. Let's
start with Hamid Akhavan, or
Ray. He was the leader. He
hired a team to purchase shell
companies.
AUSA: Akhavan
brought in Weigand, who had
connections with the overseas
merchant bank accounts. The
defendants are charged with
one count of conspiring to
commit bank fraud. We have
Weigand's computer from when
he was arrested. It shows the
fraud. AUSA: You will hear
from the former CEO of
Eaze [that's Patterson,
just pled guilty with a
cooperation deal just before
trial]. You will also hear
from someone who set up the
fake companies, fake websites,
fake traffic
AUSA: @eaze
's former CEO hopes to receive
leniency at sentencing for his
testimony. So you should
scrutinize it. I'm going
to sit down... The defendants
are guilty. Defense lawyer:
Who are the supposed victims?
Not the card holders...
Defense
lawyer: The big banks just
want plausible deniability.
They continue to this day, to
this day, selling marijuana
using debit cards. The banks
did not lose one cent.
Marijuana sales are legal in
California and Oregon, where
these transactions took place.
Defense lawyer:
Look at the form they have
people sign: You will not use
your card for transaction that
are illegal. But it's legal in
California and Oregon. And
there's not mention of
marijuana in these credit card
contracts. Gambling yes,
marijuana no
Defense
lawyer: As the prosecutor
said, there will be an
Eaze witness with a
cooperation agreement.
[Patterson] You will learn
that two others still work at
Eaze. They haven't been fired.
They're still there. Eaze
still doesn't use a code for
marijuana
Defense lawyer:
There was another man, Oliver,
who set up these websites
after he was already
cooperating with the
government. There is an
objection; overruled. Defense
lawyer: Sorry for putting my
head out [of the plexiglass
counsel's box], I couldn't
hear you
2d Defense lawyer
(for Weigand) - You can still
use a credit card to buy
marijuana through @eaze
. As far as Reuben is
concerned, his focus was not
on Eaze but on Europe and the
merchant banks in Europe, not
US issuing banks.
Weigand's
lawyer: So how is he here? He
was headed to vacation in
Costa Rica, connecting flight
in LA, he was arrested by FBI.
Before Reuben, Eaze was a
Silicon Valley darling, the
Uber of pot. It had big money
investors, who wanted it to
use credit cards.
Weigand's lawyer:
Reuben is from Germany. He ran
a company called Payment
Consultants-- AUSA: Objection!
Judge Rakoff: Sustained.
Weigand's lawyer: He traveled
to a trade show in the US, at
Ray Akhavan's office.
Judge Rakoff (to
jury) - Both sides are
predicting different things
you'll hear in the evidence.
This is just supposed to give
you an overview. Counsel, I'd
suggest you trim your remarks
a little bit. D: The merchant
banks in Europe were accepted
by Visa and MC
Weigand's
lawyer: How can you defraud
someone you're not even
thinking about? Reuben Weigand
is not guilty. Judge Rakoff:
OK, ladies and gentlemen, I'll
see you tomorrow. But wait
there's more: with jury done,
Judge Rakoff is taking up some
objections that were made.
AUSA: The evidence of what Mr.
Weigand said on that
particular call is just
hearsay. Judge Rakoff: The
cooperator was being asked to
elicit incriminating
statements
Judge Rakoff:
...and lo & behold, there
was nothing incriminating. Why
isn't that admissible?
AUSA: The
government has not intend of
introducing those calls. Judge
Rakoff, final quip: There's no
juror who has other than total
devotion to hearing your
testimony
The case is US
v. Weigand,
20-cr-188
(Rakoff).
***
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