UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK STARLEY PENA, Movant, 1:24-CV-6299 (RA) v. 1:23-CR-0375 (RA) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ORDER Respondent. RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge: On August 12, 2024, Mr. Pena, proceeding pro se, filed a motion to vacate his conviction and sentence pursuant to

on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. See ECF No. 23. On December 6, 2024, Mr. Pena’s former counsel, Robert Osuna, filed an affirmation responding to Mr. Pena’s assertions. See ECF No. 29 (“Osuna Aff.”). In that affirmation, Mr. Osuna states, among other things, that Mr. Pena’s wife informed him that she planned to hire a non-law-firm “service called Federal- alert.com” to prepare a § 2255 motion on Mr. Pena’s behalf. Osuna Aff. ¶¶ 47–48. Upon reviewing Mr. Pena’s submissions, the Court has discovered that many of the quotations and citations therein are inaccurate, misleading, or entirely nonexistent. The Court is mindful that a pro se litigant’s submissions are to be “construed liberally and interpreted ‘to raise the strongest arguments that they suggest.’” Restea v. Brown Harris Stevens LLC, No. 17-CV-4801,

, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. July 16, 2018) (quoting Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons,

(2d Cir. 2006)). Nonetheless, in light of the information the Court has received from Mr. Osuna, it has reason to believe that Mr. Pena’s submissions may in fact have been prepared by non-lawyers holding themselves out as legitimate providers of legal services. Given that possibility, the Court will permit Mr. Pena an opportunity to file a new motion, and will appoint pro bono counsel to represent him in connection with that motion, if he so chooses. Accordingly, within fourteen (14) days of receiving this Order, Mr. Pena shall inform the court whether he intends to file a new motion and, if so, whether he seeks pro bono counsel to represent him. The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to mail a copy of this Order to Mr. Pena. SO ORDERED. Dated: = July 7, 2025 li] / New York, New York RONNIE ABRAMS United States District Judge