| Man
Pled Guilty to
Bank Fraud But
Withdrew Plea
Now Co
Defendant
Seeks Medical
Delay
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
book
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 1 –
On
February 13,
2023 Adedayo
John pleaded
guilty to bank
fraud. But he
said, "I
didn't know
there was
consequences
to what I was
doing because
I was
instigated by
people from
back home,
from Nigeria."
On February
22, Adedayo
John filed his
own motion to
withdraw his
guilty plea,
and to fire
his lawyer.
On March 2,
2023 in the
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York Judge
Loretta A.
Preska held a
proceeding.
Inner City
Press covered
it.
Judge
Preska gave
John two weeks
to retain new
counsel; until
then, his
outgoing
counsel will
be the point
of contact.
She said he
could
represent
himself, but
the court
wouldn't
recommend it.
Unlike
on most other
such requests,
there is
material in
the allocution
in which the
defendant
resisted
admitting
knowledge.
Jump
cut to June
15, 2023 -
Judge Preska
held a
conference
with John's
new counsel,
his former
counsel, and
the
prosecutors.
Inner City
Press covered
it.
Former
counsel will
turn in all
his messages
with John, and
those of two
colleagues, in
a week's time.
And the
parties will
reconvene, in
person, on
July 17.
On
July 6, the US
filed a letter
stating that
the issues are
what was
discussed on
the phone, and
John's reason
for waiting to
February 21,
2023 "in
reliance on
the mistaken
assumption
that he had 10
days to
determine
whether to
withdraw the
plea."
On
July 7, John's
new counsel
filed its
letter,
arguing that
"the
Government
moved to
accept the
plea Friday,
February 17.
Walker and
John
communicated
certainly
within the
Sunday-Monday
timeframe.
Monday the
20th was a
federal
holiday. Had
Walker filed
by ECF some
type of letter
motion
alerting the
court to the
issue, even by
Tuesday
morning, the
Court likely
would have
held off from
accepting the
plea when
business
resumed on the
21st until the
matter was
resolved."
Before
the July 17
evidentiary
hearing, the
US Attorney's
Office sent in
a letter
saying it
would not now
oppose the
withdrawal of
the plea. So
the
evidentiary
hearing was
converted to a
status
conference.
On
September 1,
counsel for
John's
co-defendant
Peter
Olarewaju
wrote in
seeking a
delay in
sentencing
until January
2024, citing
his wife's
health and
attaching
detailed
records. Inner
City Press
will continue
to cover the
case.
The
case is US v.
John,
21-cr-609
(Preska)
***
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