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Law360, New York (February 11, 2021, 4:43 PM EST) -- Federal judges in the Southern District of New York are on track to bring back juries as rates of COVID-19 infection fall across the Empire State, with Manhattan U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff set to oversee the district's first white collar criminal trial since one in November that he also handled.
On Wednesday, Judge Rakoff told counsel for defendants Ruben Weigand and Hamid "Ray" Akhavan — two businessmen accused of conspiring to trick banks into processing $100 million of credit card-based marijuana purchases — to be ready on March 1 for jury selection and a trial that could last up to three weeks.
Weigand and Akhavan deny the charges, arguing that the allegedly defrauded banks suffered no harm and bore no risk. The defendants also say that they engaged in bona fide transactions for their business, the Online Marijuana Marketplace Company. In late August Judge Rakoff declined to dismiss the charges, putting the matter on track for trial.
That case and other jury trials will take place after SDNY's most recent suspension of most in-person hearings expires on Feb. 12. District Executive Ed Friedland said SDNY is monitoring the potential risk to litigants from the deadly virus but is on track to reopen.
Other trials set to begin after the suspension ends include a civil rights trial concerning claims of false arrest, set to begin Feb. 18 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison in White Plains, and a narcotics and kidnapping trial set to begin Feb. 24 in Manhattan before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote.
The Weigand trial will be the first SDNY white collar criminal trial since a jury convicted two former MiMedx Group Inc. executives in November, a proceeding also overseen by Judge Rakoff.
In-person proceedings in the Southern District are governed by strict safety protocols. Double-masking is also being encouraged, officials say, adding to a list of steps taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Weigand is represented by Michael Gilbert, Shriram Harid, Steven Pellechi and Amy Lesperance of Dechert LLP and by Michael Artan of Michael H. Artan PC.
Akhavan is represented by Christopher Tayback, Sara Clark and Mari Henderson of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Ira Rothken and Jared Smith of the Rothken Law Firm LLP.
The government is represented by Nicholas Folly, Tara LaMorte and Emily Deininger of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
The case is U.S. v. Weigand, case number 1:20-cr-00188, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
--Editing by Jill Coffey.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated a court date. The error has been corrected
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
