United States v. Elbaz
United States v. Elbaz
Opinion of the Court
Defendant Lee Elbaz is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of
BACKGROUND
The Indictment alleges the following facts, which the Court accepts as true for purposes of the Motions.
*967Elbaz, a resident of Israel, was the Chief Executive Officer of Yukom Communications, an Israel-based business that provided sales and marketing services for two internet-based businesses with the brand names BinaryBook and BigOption ("the Companies"). BinaryBook and BigOption sell financial instruments known as "binary options," consisting of bets on the outcome of a particular event, that result in the payment of either a pre-determined amount of money or nothing. Indictment ¶ 9, ECF No. 37. Elbaz identified herself as the "Trading Floor Manager" for BinaryBook and BigOption.
Count One of the Indictment charges Elbaz with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The fraud was allegedly perpetrated in several ways. Sales representatives of the Companies ("Representatives") would misrepresent their personal financial incentives to investors by stating that they were paid a commission based on investor profit, when in fact they were paid a commission based on investor deposits. The Indictment alleges that Elbaz trained and encouraged Representatives to make such claims.
Representatives also misrepresented the average investment return on binary options. Representatives were given a script that included false statements such as that investor returns averaged 15-25 percent per month and that there was an average success rate of 70 percent. Elbaz allegedly trained and encouraged employees of the Companies to make such misrepresentations.
Furthermore, Representatives, following scripts provided by Elbaz, made false statements about their educational background, claiming to have a master's degree in economics; their location, stating that they were in London; and their names, using "stage names" or other aliases. Elbaz allegedly trained and encouraged Representatives to make such statements and personally approved the stage names.
The Indictment also alleges that Representatives misstated to investors how easy it was for investors to withdraw their funds. When an investor sought to withdraw funds, the Representatives instead offered the investor an "Academy" class that was purportedly designed to improve trading performance, but did not, in fact, do so.
Finally, Representatives did not disclose material information about various proposed investment terms, including "bonuses," "risk free trades," and "insured trades."
Counts Two, Three, and Four charge Elbaz with three counts of wire fraud. In these counts, the Indictment charges that on three separate occasions, Elbaz caused, or aided and abetted, the sending of wire transmissions from Representatives to victims in Maryland for the purpose of executing a scheme to defraud. The Indictment identifies three Maryland victims through pseudonyms as Victims A, B, and C, and it provides specific dates on which a Representative of BinaryBook or BigOption communicated with the victim through a wire transmission.
DISCUSSION
The Court will first address Elbaz's Motions to Dismiss, then consider the Motion *968to Strike, and finally examine the Motion for a Bill of Particulars.
I. Motions to Dismiss
A. Legal Standard
Elbaz has been charged in Counts Two, Three, and Four with substantive counts of wire fraud in violation of
Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
Elbaz is charged in Count One with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of
Elbaz has filed her Motions to Dismiss under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12, which states that "[a] party may raise by pretrial motion any defense, objection, or request that the court can determine without a trial on the merits" and includes challenges of failure to state an offense and improper venue. Fed. R. Crim. P. 12(b)(1), (3)(A)(i), (3)(B)(v). Under United States v. Engle ,
B. Failure to State an Offense
Elbaz seeks dismissal of the Indictment for failing to state an offense. According to Elbaz, the Indictment does not set forth the essential facts that would fairly inform her of the conduct forming the offense charged in Count One. In her view, the Indictment fails to allege any facts that link her to the perpetrators of the fraud, or that show that she was aware of the fraud at all. Elbaz further argues that Counts Two, Three, and Four are deficient because there is no factual allegation that she made or caused to be made a materially false statement, or that the individuals who communicated with the Maryland victims were connected to Elbaz. Finally, she argues that there are no facts that support the charge that she aided and abetted wire fraud.
When a defendant challenges the sufficiency of an indictment, courts apply a "heightened scrutiny to ensure that every essential element of an offense has been charged." United States v. Perry ,
*969(quoting United States v. Kingrea ,
When the charged crime is conspiracy, "all that is necessary in the indictment is that the object of the conspiracy be set forth sufficiently to identify the offense which the defendant is charged with conspiring to commit." United States v. Matzkin ,
On Count One, the elements of conspiracy to commit wire fraud are "(1) two or more persons made an agreement to commit wire fraud; (2) the defendant knew the unlawful purpose of the agreement; and (3) the defendant joined in the agreement willfully." United States v. Kuhrt ,
Thus, each element of conspiracy, as well as the object of the conspiracy, is fairly stated. See Perry ,
Beyond those basic facts, which are typically sufficient to state a conspiracy charge, the Indictment sets forth a detailed description of the manner and means of the conspiracy, including that Elbaz and her co-conspirators induced investors to deposit funds based on four different categories of misrepresentations made by BinaryBook and BigOption personnel, specifically misrepresentations that Representatives were paid based on total investor profits, when in fact they were paid based on total investor deposits, misrepresentations about the profitability of their accounts, misrepresentations about the location and education of particular Representatives, and misrepresentations *970about investors' ability to withdraw their funds. These additional facts are more than enough to identify the offense Elbaz is charged with conspiring to commit and to allow Elbaz to understand whether she is being subjected to double jeopardy.
Elbaz claims that the Indictment does not provide sufficient facts to connect her to the perpetrators of the fraud or to show that she was aware of the actual acts of wire fraud. Elbaz further claims that the Indictment "must contain factual allegations from which a reasonabl[e] jury could conclude that the defendant made or caused to be made a materially false statement." Mot. Dismiss (Failure to State an Offense) at 9, ECF No. 58. First, these claims misunderstand the purpose of an indictment, which is to put the defendant on notice of the charge against her, not to demonstrate that the Government has sufficient facts to convict the defendants. Unlike for a civil complain, there is no requirement that an indictment offer sufficient facts, which if true, would establish the offense. Rather, an indictment must merely identify those essential facts necessary to inform her of the charge, prepare a defense, and avoid double jeopardy, not layout the whole of the Government's case. See, e.g., Moyer ,
Second, as Elbaz has argued, the essential element of the offense is the agreement to commit a crime, which the Indictment has alleged. There is no requirement that a defendant know the identity of all other co-conspirators in order to sustain a conviction. Indeed, an indictment charging conspiracy does not need to name co-conspirators because it is "the existence of the conspiracy, rather than the particular identity of the conspirators" that is the essential element of the crime. United States v. Am. Waste Fibers Co., Inc. ,
Third, to the extent that Elbaz argues that certain facts about her involvement must be alleged in order to allow her to prepare her defense, the Indictment further describes her alleged role in the conspiracy by stating, among other things, that Elbaz supervised the representatives who made false statements in furtherance of the fraud, that she trained and encouraged the representatives to make misrepresentations, and that she used an alias in interacting with investors and approved stage names for representatives to use. The Indictment provides specific examples of such activities by alleging that she taught a "retention class" on February 24, 2016, received a "Course Manual" on August 24, 2016, received a communication from a manager stating that "there is a lot more money to take from" investors, and directed a representative to place a small bonus in an investor account on April 10, 2015. Indictment ¶¶ 22a, 22e, 24a. These facts are sufficient to provide notice to Elbaz of the conspiracy charge against her, to allow her to prepare her defense, and to permit her to assess whether she is subject to double jeopardy. To the extent that any additional facts are needed, they will be discussed in relation to the Motion for a Bill of Particulars.
As for the substantive wire fraud charges in Counts Two, Three, and *971Four, the Indictment likewise states all of the elements of the offense and provides notice of the charges against Elbaz. To convict a person of the crime of wire fraud, the Government must show that the defendant "(1) devised or intended to devise a scheme to defraud and (2) used ... wire communications in furtherance of the scheme." United States v. Wynn ,
[K]nowingly and with the intent to defraud, having devised and intending to devise, and willfully participated in, a scheme and artifice to defraud binary options investors in BinaryBook and BigOption, and for obtaining money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, transmitted and caused to be transmitted, and aided and abetted the transmission, by means of wire communication in interstate and foreign commerce, writings, signs, pictures, and. sounds for the purpose of executing the scheme and artifice.
Indictment ¶ 41. The Indictment therefore stated all of the elements of a wire fraud offense. Although this language largely tracked the statutory text, the Indictment included "essential facts constituting the offense charged," Perry ,
These facts are more than sufficient to state the elements of the offense and to provide notice of the charge against the defendant in order to prepare a defense and to avoid double jeopardy. Again, there is no requirement that the Indictment provide more, or include sufficient facts to establish a violation of the statute. For example, in United States v. Loayza ,
As discussed above, there is no requirement that the Indictment specifically provide details showing that Elbaz was connected to the Representatives identified in Counts Two, Three, and Four, or that she was aware of those wire transmissions. First, by alleging that she "caused" the wires to be transmitted, or "aided and abetted" the transmission, the Indictment adequately states the elements of the offense to provide notice of the charge. The Indictment need not offer up all of the evidence that will be used to prove guilt.
Second, the Court notes that facts showing that Elbaz was aware of these wire transmissions are not even necessary for a conviction. Under the Pinkerton theory of liability, if Elbaz is convicted of the conspiracy *972count, she would be liable for all reasonably foreseeable acts of co-conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy, including the wire fraud charges in Counts Two, Three, and Four, even if she was not specifically aware of those transmissions. See, e.g., Pinkerton v. United States ,
Elbaz's reliance on United States v. Hooker ,
C. Extraterritoriality
Elbaz also moves to dismiss all counts of the Indictment on the assertion that the Indictment improperly seeks to prosecute extraterritorial conduct. Specifically, Elbaz argues that since a wire fraud conspiracy requires proof only of an agreement to commit wire fraud, and since that agreement occurred overseas, the agreement is not within the scope of
The United States Supreme Court has outlined a two-step framework for analyzing extraterritoriality issues. First, a court must consider whether a statute was intended to apply extraterritorially. RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. European Cmty. , --- U.S. ----,
If the statute does not apply extraterritorially, then a court must determine whether the case involves a domestic application of the statute.
There is no claim that the statutes at issue,
Although the Fourth Circuit has not specifically addressed how to determine a statute's "focus" for purposes of this analysis, it has considered the wire fraud statute in detail. In United States v. Jefferson ,
Based on this analysis, which reveals that the transaction sought to be regulated by the wire fraud statute is the wire transmission itself, the Court concludes that the "focus" of a wire fraud for purposes of assessing whether a domestic offense has occurred is the misuse of a wire communication. See Pasquantino v. United States ,
This conclusion is supported by cases in which courts have upheld wire fraud convictions of individuals outside of the United States who were engaged in a fraud *974scheme that utilized wires to the United States in furtherance of the scheme. In United States v. Kim ,
In contrast, Elbaz relies on recent cases that have rejected the notion that a single wire to or from the United States is sufficient to establish a domestic offense. See Petroleos Mexicanos v. SK Eng. & Constr. Co. Ltd. ,
However, these cases address the scenario in which a fraud scheme perpetrated by foreigners against other foreigners, with no U.S. nexus other than the incidental use of U.S. wires, is nevertheless charged as a domestic offense. See, e.g., Prevezon Holdings Ltd. ,
For similar reasons, the Court concludes that the Indictment has also alleged a domestic application of the wire fraud conspiracy statute,
Although case law does not provide a definitive answer to this question, it generally runs contrary to Elbaz's overly narrow position. In Kim , the Second Circuit made no distinction between jurisdiction over the substantive wire fraud counts and the conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge and found that where there were wire transmissions to or from the United States establishing a domestic wire fraud offense, there was likewise jurisdiction over a wire fraud conspiracy charge. See Kim ,
In the analogous context of whether there is venue for a wire fraud conspiracy, the Fourth Circuit has held that venue is proper in any district where an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy was committed by any one of the conspirators, not merely where the conspiratorial agreement was made. See United States v. Day ,
In another related context, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit considered and rejected a defendant's attempt to differentiate between the extraterritorial application of a substantive offense and a related conspiracy statute and held that where Congress has authorized extraterritorial application of the substantive offense, it followed that the conspiracy offense necessarily applies extraterritorially. United States v. Ballestas ,
Elbaz's reliance on United States v. Melgar-Hernandez ,
Significantly, Elbaz's overly narrow conception of the "focus" of a wire fraud conspiracy would lead to unreasonable results. Under her theory, drug dealers could avoid domestic liability for a drug conspiracy under
Finally, Elbaz argues, without persuasive authority, that the application of the wire fraud and conspiracy statutes to her conduct violates due process. To establish a due process violation, Elbaz must show that the domestic nexus is so insufficient that prosecuting her under an American criminal statute would be "arbitrary or fundamentally unfair." United States v. Murillo ,
Elbaz does not seriously dispute that point, but instead argues that she did not personally take actions that affected United States interests. However, the nature of a conspiracy is that co-conspirators are responsible for the reasonably foreseeable actions of each other. See Snead ,
Accordingly, the Court will deny the Motion to Dismiss on extraterritoriality grounds as to all counts.
D. Commerce Clause
In a related argument, Elbaz moves to dismiss the conspiracy charge in Count One of the Indictment based on the claim that Congress lacks the authority pursuant to the Commerce Clause to criminalize a wire fraud conspiracy that occurred outside of the United States among foreign nationals. Specifically, Elbaz argues that Congress's constitutional authority to regulate foreign commerce does not extend the application of
Under the Constitution's Commerce Clause, Congress has the authority to regulate commerce "with foreign Nations, among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." U.S. Const. Art. I § 8, cl. 3. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Commerce Clause as granting substantial deference to Congress, but this power is not without limits. See United States v. Lopez ,
Here, Elbaz's claim that the conspiracy charge has no nexus to the United States or to foreign commerce misreads the Indictment. Paragraph 17 specifically alleges that over a three year period from May 2014 to June 2017, in the District of Maryland and elsewhere, Elbaz conspired to commit the federal crime of wire fraud, a crime which specifically involves the use of wire communications in interstate or foreign commerce. The fact that the conspiracy has, as its object, the transmittal of wire communications "in interstate or foreign commerce," for the purpose of executing a scheme to defraud,
From the additional description of the conspiracy in the Indictment, there is no question that the allegations specifically involve wires directly related to commerce between the United States and foreign countries. The alleged scheme involved the marketing of financial instruments, through the use of false statements, by an Israel-based company, through internet-based businesses (BinaryBook and Big Option), to victims which specifically included the individuals in the United States referenced in the Indictment. The marketing included using emails and phone calls to individuals in the United States to discuss potential transactions and notably identifies at least three specific wires to victims in the United States. The Indictment thus squarely alleges a crime that directly implicates commerce between the United States and foreign countries, not only commerce between two or more foreign nations, and thus alleges conduct squarely within Congress's authority to regulate.
Elbaz argues that the application of the wire fraud conspiracy statute here violates the Commerce Clause because the conspiracy "did not target the United States and is therefore, at best, only tangentially related to U.S. commerce." Mot. Dismiss (Commerce) at 6, ECF No. 59. Even if the conspiracy focused more on other countries, the Indictment clearly alleges a conspiracy directed in part at the United States by virtue of allegations that the marketing of the financial instruments was directed at U.S. customers and victims. The fact that the impact of a criminal scheme on the United States may have been less than on other countries does not provide a basis to conclude that Congress cannot regulate such schemes to protect American victims, however many there are as compared to foreign victims. The fact that Elbaz caused these transmissions from overseas, if anything, strengthens this argument by bringing the conduct within the scope of the more expansive foreign commerce power.
Elbaz's contention that the Indictment does not allege that she personally directed activity toward the United States, or was aware that it was being so directed, does not support her constitutional claim. In light of the seriousness of conspiratorial activity, Congress may deem a conspiratorial agreement to use wires between the *978United States and foreign countries to further a scheme to defraud as worthy of regulation by criminal statutes. See United States v. Rabinowich ,
Here, the Indictment alleges that Elbaz supervised and trained representatives on using false statements to market financial instruments, and that the representatives' marketing activities included selling to customers in the United States, so it is entirely foreseeable that such contacts would occur. When knowledge of facts giving rise to federal jurisdiction-such as the use of a wire communication to the United States in furtherance of a fraud-is not an element of wire fraud, such knowledge is also not necessary to establish liability for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. See United States v. Feola ,
E. Venue
Elbaz's final argument for dismissal is the failure to allege proper venue. Elbaz asserts that the Indictment fails to allege that any specific conduct occurred in the District of Maryland and explicitly contends that the factual allegations of the conspiracy count, if true, would not establish that the criminal activity was continued or completed in the District of Maryland. Elbaz further argues that the communications into the District of Maryland were not foreseeable to her. Finally, she asserts that Counts Two, Three, and Four should be dismissed because they fail to proffer facts relating to wires that came from or passed through the District of Maryland in furtherance of the alleged fraud.
Under the statute addressing venue in criminal cases, a federal criminal offense "begun in one district and completed in another, or committed in more than one district," may be "prosecuted in any district in which the offense was begun, continued, or completed."
Here, the Indictment specifically alleges, in paragraph 17, that Elbaz and others did, "in the District of Maryland and elsewhere," "knowingly transmit and *979cause to be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate and foreign commerce, writings, signs, pictures, and sounds for the purpose of executing the scheme and artifice." Indictment ¶ 17. Any such transmittal would qualify as an overt act in the District. See Engle ,
Beyond that allegation, the Court also can and will consider the illustrative overt acts described in paragraph 42. Although Elbaz argues that paragraph 42 cannot be considered for purposes of the conspiracy count because it was not expressly incorporated as part of the discussion relating to Count One, such rigid adherence of form over substance is not necessary. In United States v. Duncan ,
In paragraph 42, the Indictment alleges that Elbaz, "for the purpose of executing ... the scheme to defraud, knowingly caused to be transmitted by means of wire communications in interstate commerce" three specific communications to victims in Maryland. Indictment ¶ 42. It does not matter that these wires were not necessarily themselves fraudulent in nature. In Day , the defendant was convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and other offenses relating to a scheme to defraud the Department of Defense by supplying defective spare parts for military equipment. Day ,
Here, as in Day , the Indictment does not allege that the identified communications with the victims in the District of Maryland included fraudulent statements, or that Elbaz was the sender or recipient of the wire communication. But where these wire communications were alleged to have been caused by Elbaz in order to further the conspiracy to defraud investors, see Indictment ¶ 42, they sufficiently allege an overt act that, under Day , establishes venue in Maryland. Day,
To the extent that Elbaz argues that the Indictment must allege facts showing that such overt acts were caused by or reasonably foreseeable to Elbaz, the Indictment's allegations that Representatives of BinaryBook and BigOption worked under Elbaz's supervision, and that she trained and encouraged them to use false claims in order to increase investor deposits, are sufficient to support such a conclusion. Where Elbaz *980is alleged to have been part of the conspiracy, and a member of a conspiracy is responsible for the acts of others in furtherance of the conspiracy, see Singh ,
As for the substantive counts, Counts Two, Three, and Four, wire fraud is a "continuing offense," such that venue on a substantive wire fraud count is established when the defendant causes a wire communication to be transmitted in furtherance of the fraud. United States v. Ebersole ,
Here, paragraph 42 alleges that Elbaz caused wires to be sent to Maryland for the purpose of executing a scheme to defraud. It does not matter that Elbaz was not the sender or recipient. Ebersole ,
II. Motion to Strike
Elbaz has filed a Motion to Strike Paragraph 10 of the Indictment, which states:
While some binary options were listed on registered exchanges or traded on a designated contract market that were subject to oversight by U.S. regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, neither BinaryBook nor BigOption sold binary options that were traded on a legal and regulated designated contract market in the United States.
Indictment ¶ 10. Elbaz argues that paragraph 10 has no probative value for Count One of the Indictment, is disconnected from Counts Two, Three, and Four, and risks prejudicing jurors against her. Elbaz argues that the allegation in paragraph 10 is unrelated to whether she entered into a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and does not help the Government prove that Elbaz committed wire fraud or aided and abetted the commission of wire fraud. Elbaz further argues that the Government only included paragraph 10 to trigger a negative reaction by the jury by implying that Elbaz's companies should have been registered with U.S. regulators.
Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 7(d), courts "may strike surplusage from the indictment." Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(d). Courts should grant motions to strike surplusage "only if it is clear that the allegations are not relevant to the charge and are inflammatory and prejudicial." United States v.Williams ,
The Court finds that Elbaz has failed to establish that the allegations are irrelevant. The Government asserts that paragraph 10 was included because the fact that the binary options sold by BinaryBook and BigOption should have been, but were not, listed on registered exchanges or traded on a designated contract market regulated by the SEC arguably *981made it more likely that there was a scheme to defraud, because a decision not to meet such a requirement may tend to reveal an intent to evade detection of the fraudulent scheme by federal authorities, and may also tend to increase the likelihood of the success of the fraud based on a lack of regulatory oversight. Although there may be other potential inferences from these facts, there is nothing impermissible about these inferences.
The allegations in paragraph 10 are neither inflammatory nor unduly prejudicial, where the failure to meet a regulatory requirement is far less inflammatory than the primary allegation of defrauding investors. Notably, in Williams , the court refused to strike from an indictment for a felon-in-possession charge the significantly more inflammatory allegation that the defendant was responsible for an uncharged murder. Williams ,
As trial approaches, Elbaz is free to argue that the Indictment should not be shared with the jury, or to propose a limiting instruction to prevent the jury from drawing any inappropriate inferences from paragraph 10. As for the pending Motion, however, the Court will deny the Motion to Strike because paragraph 10 is relevant and not unduly prejudicial.
III. Bill of Particulars
Elbaz seeks a bill of particulars on the grounds that because of the alleged deficiencies in the Indictment, and the Government's production of 2.5 million pages of discovery, more information is needed to allow her to prepare her defense. She requests that the bill of particulars include four classes of information. First, Elbaz seeks the identities of the individuals referenced in the Indictment as having performed acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, such as the Representatives who engaged in the three charged wire transmissions. Second, Elbaz seeks the identities of the alleged victims of the offense. Third, Elbaz seeks identification of the allegedly fraudulent statements that Elbaz made or caused to be made in furtherance of the scheme. Fourth, Elbaz seeks the identification of the location where the conspiratorial agreement was entered and of any overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy committed in Maryland, in order to assess whether venue is proper.
The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure require that the "indictment ... be a plain, concise, and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged." Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(c)(1). The defendant may "move for a bill of particulars before or within 14 days after arraignment or at a later time if the court permits." Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(f). "The purpose of a bill of particulars is to enable a defendant to obtain sufficient information on the nature of the charge against him so that he may prepare for trial, minimize the danger of surprise at trial, and enable him to plead his acquittal or conviction in bar of another prosecution for the same offense." United States v. Schembari ,
As to the first request, the Indictment does not identify Elbaz's co-conspirators except through pseudonyms. As discussed above, a conspiracy indictment does *982not need to name all co-conspirators because it is "the existence of the conspiracy, rather than the particular identity of the conspirators" that is the essential element of the crime. Am. Waste Fibers Co., Inc. ,
In a Supplement to the Government's Response to the Defendant's Motion for a Bill of Particulars, ECF No. 82, the Government reports that it has provided Elbaz with a key identifying the Managers and Representatives referenced in the Indictment. Based on this representation, the Court finds that there is no need for a Bill of Particulars on this point and will deny the Motion on this issue. See United States v. Urban ,
Second, as to the identity of victims, the scheme as described in the Indictment may have had a very significant number of victims. The Government need not identify them all. See Butler v. United States ,
Third, as to false statements made or caused to be made by Elbaz, the voluminous discovery makes it difficult for the defense to identify which statements by Elbaz will be at issue at trial. In Magalnik , the court ordered the Government to file a bill of particulars to list the specific documents out of 4,125 pages that "it intends to introduce at trial and explain[ ], in general terms, how each application is believed to be false or fraudulent."
Given the volume of discovery and the broad time frame of the alleged conspiracy, the Court concludes that a bill of particulars is warranted. Although the Court will not require the Government to identify all false statements caused by Elbaz, it will direct the Government to include in its bill of particulars a list of the allegedly false statements made directly by Elbaz, if any, that it intends to introduce at trial, including *983the date of the statement and the person to whom it was made. United States v. Rogers ,
Fourth, Elbaz's identification in a bill of particulars of overt acts performed in Maryland is not necessary. The Court has already determined, based on the facts alleged in the Indictment, that venue is proper.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Elbaz's Motions to Dismiss are DENIED, the Motion to Strike is DENIED, and the Motion for a Bill of Particulars is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. A separate Order shall issue.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Lee ELBAZ
- Cited By
- 1 case
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- Published