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Trial in alleged CW-1 scam case starts today
The jury trial of five of six defendants in the alleged CW-1 scam case will start today, Monday, in the U.S. District Court for the NMI.
This developed as the U.S. government filed a second superseding indictment against five defendants—Muksedur Rahman, Md. Rafiqul Islam, Shahinur Akter, David Trung Quoc Phan, and Analyn Nunez.
Last Aug. 14, defendant Zeaur Rahman Dalu pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in foreign contracting. His sentencing will be on Dec. 22, 2017 at 9am.
The second superseding indictment charged Rahman with two counts of mail fraud, and two counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting, while Islam was charged with one count of mail fraud, and three counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting.
The second superseding indictment also charged Akter with one count of mail fraud, and two counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting, while Phan was charged with two counts of mail fraud, three counts of fraud in foreign labor contracting, and fraud and misuse of visas and permits.
The second superseding indictment charged Nunez with one count of mail fraud, and one count of fraud and misuse of visas and permits.
According to the U.S. government, integral to the scheme to defraud was the collection of large amounts of money—roughly between $15,000 and $20,000—from each of the 12 victims, all Bangladeshi nationals.
Last Aug. 2, assistant U.S. attorney James Benedetto moved to dismiss 11 of 17 charges against the six defendants, saying this would better streamline its case presentation as well as its opening and closing arguments. The court granted the motion.
