Desperate to avoid prison term over his his alleged multi-million naira internet fraud case, Ramoni Abass, aka Hushpuppi, has secured the service of another top lawyer, Mrs Vicki Podberesky, as he faces trial in Los Angeles, California.
It would be recalled that Hushpuppi had hired Gal Pitsetssky, a lawyer who had defended famous celebrities, including the late pop music king, Michael Jackson, to defend him on his case.
Hushpuppi was arrested and extradited from Dubai to the US, last month, by the FBI who accused him of controlling an email network that made millions of dollars from compromised business frauds and other forms of fraud.
Mrs Podberesky of the Andrues/Podberesky law firm, based in Los Angeles, specialises in representing individuals in both state and federal criminal matters, as well as companies and individuals in administrative and in-house investigations.
Following a court ruling in the Northern District of Illinois, Hushpuppi who was formerly held in the Metropolitan Correction Centre in Chicago, United States has now been transported to Los Angeles by the US Marshals Service,
As reported by the Premium Times, Mr Pitsetssky is a top criminal defence lawyer but is only licensed to practice in Chicago, though he applied to appear pro hac vice on behalf of the alleged top-flight fraudster in California.
It was explained that a pro hac vice refers to a practice whereby a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction is allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction.
The out-of-jurisdiction attorney is required to provide the court with a statement from his local bar association indicating that he is a member in good standing.
In most jurisdictions, the attorney appearing pro hac vice must continue to associate with a locally licenced attorney, also referred to as “local counsel. However, the degree to which the local counsel is required or expected to participate in the matter varies.
Available documents revealed that Mr Pitsetssky applied for a pro hac vice on July 22 with an attestation letter from the Attorney Registration and the Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court in Illinois.
Similarly, Mrs Podberesky has been hired as the local counsel to work with Mr Pitsetssky and Hushpuppi.
On Friday, the order for Mr Pissetzky to appear pro hac vice with Mrs Podberesky was granted by a judge, Pedro V Castillo, of the US court in California.
Mr Pitsetssky was reported to have had, on Sunday evening, noted that the case against Hushpuppi is far from being set to go to trial as, according to him, the US government is yet to turn over all the evidence.
He said the date for the next appearance has not been released yet.
Source: Thestreetjournal
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