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by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Dec 2 –  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.

On November 4, the US Attorney's Office wrote in asking for 24 months.

On December 2, counsel for co-defendant Emordi wrote in asking for no prison time, instead home incarceration, on December 18.

The case is US v. Ndama-Traore, et al., 23-cr-265 (Berman / Willis)  

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