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In OneCoin Trial Scott Wanted More Statements In But Most Rejected US Says No Plea Offer Made

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon, Thread

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 28 – After OneCoin's Konstantin Ignatov got a stay of the civil case against him, then his criminal case was kicked down the road for at least another two months. Now the can looms closer, on November 4 before Judge Edgardo Ramos in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

On Sunday, October 27 Mark Scott's lawyers asked Judge Ramos to allow in more of Scott's post arrest statement, a request that for example in the recent Honduras narco-trial the defense left until mid-trial but still got granted in five instances. More on Patreon here and here.

On Monday, October 28 in a two hour pre-trial conference covered by Inner City Press, Judge Ramos rejected most of the proposed supplements: five out of seven in full, and most of the other two. He also said that the government can show photos of Scott with a yacht and cars that he purchased.

On the other hand Judge Ramos will not allow in the testimony of a so-called "attempted victim" who chose not to invest in OneCoin after thirty minutes of online research, and will not allow in evidence of the gun Scott was found with when arrested, using the word (too) "thuggish" in denying it.

  Judge Ramos asked if the trial will go forward or if a pre trial resolution might still be reached. The government responded that it has made no plea offer. So it's on - and Inner City Press has arranged to live tweet the proceedings, which Judge Ramos said will be 9:30 to 2:30 Monday through Friday.

  The government said the trial will take two to three weeks. There will be four alternate jurors. Jury selection is set for November 4. Inner City Press will be there - watch this site. And watch this Periscope video, for now. (Sorry it's 90 degrees off - working on that). More on Patreon here.

  Inner City Press intends to live-tweet as much of the trial as possible, having put in requests in advance. Watch this site.

  On September 6 Inner City Press was rushing to the SDNY courthouse for a 10 am conference in the case when the subway simply stopped for 15 minute: "unruly passenger," they called it. Once in Foley Square Inner City Press ran into Ignatov's lawyer who politely answered that the short conference was already over, with the case delayed two months due to discovery and the civil case.

  Here's how it was entered into the docket some hours later: "Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Edgardo Ramos: Status Conference as to Konstantin Ignatov held on 9/6/2019... A pretrial conference is scheduled for November 7, 2019, at 3:30 p.m. Speedy trial time is excluded from today, September 6, 2019, until November 7, 2019, in the interest of justice. (Pretrial Conference set for 11/7/2019 at 03:30 PM before Judge Edgardo Ramos) (lnl)."

 With OneCoin the subject of criminal prosecution a civil case against it was ordered stayed on August 23 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Valerie Caproni.

  While Konstantin Ignatov's lawyer Jeffrey Einhorn's basis for the stay was "corresponding criminal prosecution," Judge Caproni also chided plaintiffs' lawyers at Levi & Kosinsky for failing to serve or show service on some of the defendants.

  Later in the day the firm wrote that "OneCoin Ltd. and Ruja Ignatova are domiciled in Bulgaria and are believed to be evading service. Sebastian Greenwood, similarly, is domiciled in Sweden, and is believed to be evading service." They are proposing service by Facebook, citing FTC v. Pecon Software Ltd, 2013 WL 4016272, at *5 (SDNY Aug. 7, 2013). Whether Judge Caproni will accept this is not yet clear. More on Patreon here. Inner City Press will continue to follow these cases.

Back on June 28 detention was continued for OneCoin defendant Konstantin Ignatov, after he offered to pay armed guards to keep him in an apartment he would rent in Manhattan. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Edgardo Ramos questioned the source of the bail money that Ignatov was offering to put up, as well as issued raised about the propriety of "private prisons" of  the type now incarcerated UN briber Ng Lap Seng, whose appeal was just denied, was allowed to live in during the pendency of his case.

  Ignatov's lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman noted that Bernie Madoff got bail, and that the government could not show any contact between Ignavov and his sister Ruja, indisputedly higher up in the OneCoin scheme. But Judge Ramos, after more than an hour of argument, was not convinced. The case is US v. Scott / Ignatov, 17-cr-630 (Ramos).

 More on Patreon, here.

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