| Ezika Pled
Guilty Then Tried To Withdraw Plea But Got
Time Served Now Nnawuba 40 Months
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
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UK - Honduras
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
July 14 – Okechukwu Peter
Ezika entered a guilty plea in
January 2019 to "engaging in
monetary transactions in
property derived from
specified unlawful
activity."
Then he
tried to withdraw his
plea.
On January 28, U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge
Katherine Polk Failla held a
lengthy proceeding. Inner City
Press covered it.
Ezika said that what he
previously pled to under oath
was false.
He had changed
lawyers, twice, and his
current lawyer on January 27
said delicately that sometimes
defendants are coached what to
say by their counsel.
Judge
Failla said she would not
return the plea for such
minutae as Ezika calling her
Your Majesty or Mrs. Failla.
But she
inquired with the AUSA what
the prejudice would be to
them. They stopped their
investigation in light of the
plea.
Judge
Failla, with another
proceeding coming onto
CourtCall at 11 am (in fact,
it did not), said she will
soon issue an oral ruling.
And Judge
Failla convened another
conference on February 2, to
read her ruling. Inner City
Press covered it. Running
through the applicable legal
standards, Judge Failla said
she found no basis to find
ineffective assistance of
counsel or any other ground to
allow for the withdrawal of
the guilty plea.
On June 3, Judge
Failla held Ezeji's
sentencing, and Inner City
Press covered it. Ezeji spoke
of the difficulties of being
in the MDC amid Covid, his
wife coming up from
Greensboro, North Carolina but
not being allowed to visit
him. He went to school in
Ghana; his parents live in
Nigeria. But there were false
statements about hawala money
transfers from his father, and
an obstruction enhancement.
Still, Judge Failla
sentenced him to time served
(23 months) and a day, and
wanted Immigration to know
that this is not a six month
sentence.
Now in July,
this: FILED JUDGMENT IN A
CRIMINAL CASE as to Emeka
Nnawuba (6), Count(s) 1 are
dismissed on the motion of the
US. Pleaded guilty to Count(s)
2, Imprisonment for a total
term of Forty (40) Months.
Supervised release for a term
of Three Years. The court
makes the following
recommendations to the Bureau
of Prisons:The Court
recommends that the Defendant
be designated to a facility of
an appropriate security level
in the State of Arkansas, or,
if there's no facility
available in that area, then
to a facility in the Western
Texas area. The defendant
shall surrender for service of
sentence at the institution
designated by the Bureau of
Prisons before 2pm on
9/24/2021. Special Assessment
of $100 which is due
immediately. Restitution of
$1,362,528.46. You shall
commence monthly installment
payments of 10% percent of
your gross income, payable on
the first of each month, upon
release from any term of
imprisonment imposed."
The case is US v.
Ezeji, 18-cr-117 (Failla)
***
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