| For
Money
Laundering 2
Flew Into SDNY
and Detained
as Named
Defendant
Wants 18
Months
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 30 –
Salif
Ndama-Traore
and others
were indicted
for tricking
at least five
victims in
three states
including
making
payments into
bank accounts
controlled by
the defendants
rather than to
the intended
beneficiaries
of the
payments.
On June 22,
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York
Magistrate
Judge Barbara
C. Moses held
the
presentment of
the lead
defendant and
of Ibrahim
Bocoum. Inner
City Press was
there, the
only media in
the SDNY Mag
Court.
Judge Moses
asked if the
assigned
District
Judge, Richard
M. Berman, has
set a
conference.
Not yet, the
AUSA said -
there are four
other
defendant set
to be
extradited in
next
week.
The two were
detained.
On
July 11, Salif
Ndama-Traore
appeared again
before Judge
Berman, and
Inner City
Press was
again there. Salif
Ndama-Traore
had switched
from Federal
Defenders to a
lawyer only
recently, he
said, of
Garden City
but now of 299
Broadway.
Judge Berman
joked at this
this better or
at least
closer
location.
Another
conference was
set for
September 13.
Meanwhile
co-defendant
Ibrahim
Boccoum
switched from
a well-known
NJ-based
lawyer to one
pro hac viced
in from Texas.
Jump
cut to March
12, 2024,
status
conference
with two
defendants -
in detention -
in Judge
Berman's
courtroom with
their lawyers,
and four on
video with
theirs. One
defense
counsel asked
for 90 days;
Judge Berman
said that was
too much.
Finally a next
conference on
May 1 at 11 am
was ordered,
with counsel
to confer on a
motions
schedule.
On
May 1, Inner
City Press
again went to
cover the
case. The two
detained
defendants
were there,
one in Hudson
County green,
the other in
MDC tan, and
four
defendants in
Texas, their
lawyers
appearing
virtually. It
was agreed all
the lawyers,
at least, will
appear in
court on
September 17
at 10 am.
Inner City
Press thought,
when
defendants or
defense
counsel appear
virtually,
there should
be a
listen-only
call-in line
for the press
and public.
On
August 1
counsel to
Amadou Ba said
he is barely
involved in
the wider
alleged
conspiracy and
wants a
separate trial
- otherwise,
he says, "we
would have no
choice but to
in effect
'prosecute'
[co-defendants]
for their
involvement in
deceiving
him."
On
August 6,
co-defendant
Keith Emordi
pled guilty,
in the SDNY
Magistrates
court, with a
sentencing
control date
set at
November 4.
On
September 17
the US
Attorney's
Office wrote
in to push
back a
conference
that day to
October 29.
On
September 23,
co-defendant
Boccoum pled
guilty before
Magistrate
Judge
Katharine H.
Parker, who
continued
detention and
set a control
date of
January 27,
2025.
On
October 30,
counsel for
named
defendant
Ndama-Traore
wrote in
asking for a
sentence of 18
months on
November 12.
The
case is US v.
Ndama-Traore,
et al.,
23-cr-265
(Berman /
Willis)
***
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