| Wright Pled
To Carbon Credits Fraud and Got 52 Months
Now Ralston Set to Plead August 10
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
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BBC
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UK - Honduras
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SDNY Courtroom
Exclusive, August 3 – Roger Ralston,
Christopher Wright and Steven
Hooper all faced a joint wire
fraud conspiracy trial on May
12, 2022.
On February 18, U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge Jed
S. Rakoff held a lengthy
in-person oral argument. Inner
City Press went and covered
it.
Among the
issues raised is whether the
trials should be severed.
Hooper proffered to the US
Attorney's Office for some 18
hours and almost got a
cooperator's deal. Now,
counsel for Ralston argues,
Hooper's information could
never be effectively
"Bruton-ized" at trial.
[See, Bruton
v. US, 391 U.S. 123
(1968)]
Hooper's counsel countered,
why not a bench trial for him,
with stipulated facts? Judge
Rakoff said it would not be a
problem for him, but asked the
government. Assistant US
Attorney Jessica K. Feinstein
said they will "take it under
advisement."
On March
15, severance was granted --
but not on the Brutonization
grounds, but due to a serious
health problem for Ralston due
to a recent accident.
Hooper and Wright
would be put on trial on April
25; Ralston to follow on
September 12.
On April 5,
a change of plea (to guilty)
was set for two of the
defendants: "held on 4/5/2022
without transcription or
recording. Melissa Kelley of
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP for
Defendant Wright and Shaelyn
Gambino-Morrison of
ChaudhryLaw PLLC for Defendant
Hooper were present. A change
of plea hearing concerning
both defendants is set for
4/8/22 at 3:00 p.m."
Inner City Press
went and covered the in-person
guilty pleas, the only media
in the courtroom. Both Wright
and Hooper got sentencing
ranges of 70 to 87 months, but
60 months is the cap. After
Wright pled (allocuting to
Cyprus to Saint Vincent wires)
and left, it was said Hooper
had been offered a
cooperator's deal, and that
the government at this
sentencing on June 16 at noon
will say he told the truth.
His
allocuation described
fraudulent carbon credit, a
scheme he withdrew from on
this own.
But when
Hooper's counsel asked that he
be allowed to travel back to
the UK before sentencing, the
AUSA opposed it and Judge
Rakoff agreed, keeping the
conditions of release
including GPS bracelet, the
same.
Jump cut to June
14, two days before
sentencing, and Hooper through
counsel re-argued for a time
served sentence, chiding the
government for ignoring COVID
conditions and his
cooperation.
But Hooper got 42
months. And Wright, 52 months:
"Minute Entry for proceedings
held before Judge Jed S.
Rakoff: Sentencing held on
6/30/2022 for Christopher
Wright (2) Count 1ss. Present
were the defendant and his
counsel, John Zach and Melissa
Kelley, AUSAs Jessica
Feinstein and Olga Zverovich
for the government, Special
Agent-IRS, Miguel Valencia,
and a court reporter.
SENTENCE: On count 1: 52
months jail, Vol Surr to the
institution on 8/16/22 before
2pm; (NO SR), $100 assess,
Forfeiture $1,632,443.10,
Restit: $16,407,459.52."
Wright moved his
surrender date up: "ENDORSED
LETTER as to (19-Cr-774-2)
Christopher Wright addressed
to Judge Jed S. Rakoff from
Attorney John T. Zach dated
July 29, 2022 re: Mr. Wright
has been designated to FCI
Loretto with a surrender date
of Tuesday, August 16, 2022,
by 10:00am. We request that
Mr. Wright's surrender date be
brought forward to Tuesday,
August 9, 2022, by 3:00pm.
This is to allow Mr. Wright to
begin his sentence sooner, and
also to allow for the timing
of public transportation that
he must take to FCI Loretto.
In addition, we also ask that
Mr.Wright's bail be modified
to permit him to travel
outside of the SDNY and EDNY
on Monday, August 8, 2022, and
Tuesday, August 9, 2022, so
that he can surrender to FCI
Loretto. ENDORSEMENT: SO
ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Jed
S. Rakoff on 7/29/2022)."
And on August 3,
notice that Ralston is set to
plead guilty on August 10:
"NOTICE OF HEARING as to Roger
Ralston: A change of plea
proceeding will be heard at
4:00pm on August 10, 2022.
***Change of Plea Hearing set
for 8/10/2022 at 04:00 PM
before Judge Jed S. Rakoff."
The case is
US v. Ralston, et al.,
19-cr-774 (Rakoff)
***
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