| Handlers
Indicted in
SDNY On Fraud
Charges But
Contest Search
Of Phones Now
in Motion
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
book
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Jan 18 –
Isidore
Handler,
Martin
Handler,
Menachem
Lieberman,
Harold
Schwartz and
Ben
Werczberger
were indicted
and then
presented on
January 11
before U.S.
District Court
for the
Southern
District of
New York
Magistrate
Judge Robert
W. Lehrburger.
Inner
City Press was
there, the
only media in
the Mag Court.
There was an
argument about
the defendants
phones being
searched, see
below.
The charges
include wire
fraud, theft
of government
funds,
aggravated
identity theft
and money
laundering.
The
indictment,
while ordered
unsealed on
January 11,
was still not
in PACER - in
its place were
two copies of
the order to
unseal. Inner
City Press has
obtained and
published it
on its
DocumentCloud,
here.
Summary:
They are
charged with
participating
in schemes to
steal millions
of dollars
from
government-funded
childcare
programs for
low-income
families,
including by
stealing
proceeds from
a fake
after-school
program that
received
millions in
funding and by
using funds to
purchase
private real
estate, items
at auction,
and a luxury
vehicle.
The defendants
were ordered
released on
bond on
January 11.
There
was an
argument about
phones seized
from the
defendants.
Defense
counsel wanted
to litigate
before any
search warrant
can be
obtained. But
Assistant US
Attorney
Daniel Wolf
said the issue
wasn't ripe,
that they
could move to
suppress
later.
Judge
Lehrburger
recommended
that defense
counsel write
a letter to
the assigned
District Judge
Jennifer H.
Rearden.
On
January 18,
they did,
arguing that
"the
government has
not set forth
the basis for
the agents'
belief that -
at the time of
the seizure -
they had
probable cause
to believe
that these
specific
phones
contained
evidence of
criminality."
And some
phones, they
say, were not
in plain view.
Motion on
Patreon here
Inner
City Press
will continue
to cover this
case.
The
case is US v.
Handler, et
al., 23-cr-4
(Rearden /
Lehrburger)
***
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