| In
OneCoin Fraud Case, Mark Scott Asks Delay
of Sentencing, Inner City Press Files to
Unseal
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Podcast Filing
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
August 25 -- For money
laundering for scam crypto
currency OneCoin, lawyer Mark
Scott was convicted by a jury
after testimony by Konstantin
Ignatov and others but was
allowed to remain free on bail
pending sentencing.
On May 24,
2021 Mark Scott's sentencing
was again pushed back, this
time from June 14 into
September.
On August 24,
Mark Scott's lawyers
asked for yet another
postponement of his
sentencing, in a heavily
redacted letter. The basis is
a motion filed under seal, and
a medical procedure "due to
the COVID-19 situation in
Florida."
On August 25, the
US Attorney's Office opposed
the request, but left the
basis mysterious, writing:
"The Government is in the
process of investigating the
allegations raised in the
supplemental motion and will
respond to the claims raised
by the motion. Nonetheless,
even the claims in the
supplemental motion do not
establish a basis for a new
trial pursuant to Rule 33
under prevailing legal
precedent."
And on August 25,
Inner City Press filed a
letter with Judge Ramos,
cc-ing the prosecutors and
Scott's counsel, formally
asking that the motion be
unsealed:
(Now
on
DocumentCloud,
here;
podcast here).
Dear Judge
Ramos: This
concerns, in the
above-captioned criminal case
that concerns money laundering
for the OneCoin scheme, the
request to entirely seal a
judicial document requesting a
new trial for the defendant.
The filing(s) should be
unsealed in full, or if the
Court sees fit, in
part. I have
been covering the case for
Inner City Press, see also,
e.g., The Guardian (UK),
November 25, 2019, "In
testimony live-tweeted by the
investigative
journalism website Inner
City Press, Ignatov
reportedly referred to
Abdulaziz as 'one of the main
money launderers' involved in
the scheme."
Yesterday,
Scott's counsel filed a letter
(Dkt 390) requesting a
sentencing adjournment based
on "the need for the Court to
consider and address the
Supplemental Rule 22 Motion
(including the request for an
evidentiary hearing) filed
under seal on August 23,
2021." That motion is a
judicial document, within the
meaning of United States v.
Aref, 533 F.3d 72, 81-83 (2d
Cir. 2008) and Lugosch v.
Pyramid Co., 435 F.3d 110 (2d
Cir. 2006) - it should be made
available.
It is not
entirely clear to me if the
letter has been docketed.
There is an August 13 notation
of a SEALED DOCUMENT placed in
vault. This is a request to
unseal that as well, and to
review the redaction in Dkt
390. Judge Richard Sullivan,
only today, ruled that a
discussion of a defendant's
COVID status was not entitled
to sealing. See US v. Ernest
Murphy, 18-cr-373 (Sullivan),
dkt 857. This is a case
of public import, and these
are judicial documents.
Inner City
Press routinely files requests
to unseal in this District,
and other Districts -
including as cited in its
March 31 request, here
And Judge Broderick's
docketing of Inner City Press'
request to unseal in US v.
Ashe / Piao, 15-cr-706, Dkt No
999 (Inner City Press letter)
& Dkt 998 (ordering that
sealing be justified or
removed by April 9).
And see,
regarding public access to
allegedly confidential
information, Judge Furman's
recent grant of Inner City
Press request to unseal in US
v. Avenatti, 19-cr-374 (JMF),
Docket No. 134. See also, July
27, 2021, NYLJ,
"Judge Orders Release of
Michael Avenatti's Financial
Affidavits In Stormy Daniels
Theft Case," "Journalist
Matthew Russell Lee of Inner
City Press had intervened,
advocating for the affidavits'
release."
(Now on
DocumentCloud, here;
podcast here).Watch
this site.
Inner
City Press
back on March
13 asked the
US Attorney's
Office Press
Office for its
filings not
yet in the
public
docket.
Here
is Inner City Press' Periscope
video upon leaving the
courthouse. The case is US v.
Scott, 17-cr-630
(Ramos).
***
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