| Florida Man
Arrested For Fraud in Westin
Hotel Cited Facebook Now Pleads
Guilty Before Trial
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
April 14 – Andrew Franzone was
arrested for fraudulently
inducing victims to purchase
limited partnership interests
in an investment fund by means
of misrepresentations and
omission. But, with retained
counsel, he is seeking to
suppress.
On September 12,
2022, U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York Judge Vernon S. Broderick
held an in-person suppression
hearing. Inner City Press went
and covered it.
Franzone was arrested, then
later the room was searched.
Afterward Judge Broderick
ordered the government to
submit an affidavit listing
the investigative steps taken
between Franzone's arrest on
April 22, 2021 and the request
for the second search warrant
on May 21, 2021, and on
communications with the Westin
Hotel.
Docketed on April
14, 2025: "Change of Not
Guilty Plea to Guilty Plea as
to Andrew Franzone (1) Count
1,2."
Previously,
Franzone's counsel submitted a
half-redacted letter seeking
to be relieved as counsel,
referring before and after the
redactions to Franzone's
representation in "the civil
matters."
On November 18,
Judge Broderick ordered:
"ORDER granting [62] LETTER
MOTION re: [62] LETTER MOTION
addressed to Judge Vernon S.
Broderick from Joseph R.
Corozzo and Angela D. Lipsman
dated 11/16/22 re: Permission
to Be Relieved As Counsel as
to Andrew Franzone. Deborah
Coleson is appointed as Mr.
Franzones counsel for the
limited purpose of resolving
issues related to his CJA
application.. (Signed by Judge
Vernon S. Broderick on
11/18/2022)."
On May 25, 2023,
Franzone's new counsel filed a
motion to suppress materials
seized from Franzone's Gmail
account, arguing that the
warrant application contained
material misstatements made in
reckless disregard for the
truth.
On September 25,
2023 Franzone's lawyers
answered Judge Broderick's
written pre-hearing questions,
including if they have any
cases "where a court has
suppressed evidence seized
from a defendant's Google
applications based on the
argument that the search
warrant affidavit only related
to one Google application."
In response they
cited US v. Blake, 868 F.3d
960 (11 Cir. 2017) about
Facebook, and Judge Valerie E.
Caproni's decision in US v.
Garlick, which Inner City
Press covered.
On January 22,
2025 at another conference,
the trial was pushed back to
March 3 "to permit the parties
to either finalize a pre-trial
disposition or proceed to
trial."
The case is USA
v. Franzone, 1:21-cr-446
(Broderick)
***
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