U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman granted 83-year-old Harald Joachim von der Goltz's request to hold off reporting to the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts, until March 4, 2021. Last month, Judge Berman delayed von der Goltz's reporting date to Jan. 4 due to his virus concerns and poor health.
Von der Goltz noted in a letter motion Monday that the U.S. is now in the midst of its third and thus-far most severe wave of the novel coronavirus. He also said FMC-Devens currently has 89 active cases of COVID-19 among inmates, or more than 10% of the prison's total population.
Von der Goltz said a two-month delay of his sentence would give him the opportunity for early vaccination before reporting to prison. The government did not oppose the request, according to the letter.
"According to press reports, the [Bureau of Prisons] has no current timeline for vaccinating inmates," the defendant's lawyer wrote. "If he is not incarcerated, however, Mr. von der Goltz should be among the early recipients of a vaccine through Massachusetts state resources based on his age and co-morbidities. In addition, Mr. von der Goltz and his doctors are actively trying to expedite the process."
Although Monday's letter did not detail von der Goltz's health issues, his previous motion for a delay said heart ailments, along with his age, put him at higher risk if he contracts COVID-19.
Von der Goltz was sentenced in September to a four-year jail term, fined $30,000 and ordered to pay $3.4 million in restitution to the U.S. for cheating the IRS with the help of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
His longstanding efforts to evade U.S. taxes from 2000 to 2016 were exposed by the Panama Papers document leak. Von der Goltz admitted in February to nine criminal counts, including tax evasion, fraud and making false statements.
Counsel for Von der Goltz declined to comment Monday.
Von der Goltz is represented by Aitan Goelman of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP.
The government is represented by Nathan Martin Rehn, Kristy Jean Greenberg and Eun Young Choi of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, I. Parker Reid Tobin of the U.S. Department of Justice's Tax Division and Sarah Paul of Eversheds Sutherland.
The case is U.S. v. Owens et al., case number 1:18-cr-00693, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
--Additional reporting by Pete Brush and David Hansen. Editing by Janice Carter Brown.
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