--- type: court_doc id: "court_sdny_342_0" court: "SDNY" case_no: "23-cr-00118" doc_number: 342 doc_type: "UNKNOWN" filed_date: "2024-05-20" lang: "zh" url: "https://mubeitech.com/court/court_sdny_342_0" json_url: "https://mubeitech.com/api/court/court_sdny_342_0" --- # | | Case 1:23-cr-00118-AT
O53FwanP | Document > 原始法庭文件为英文；下方为英文全文，顶部为中文摘要。 |----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------|--------------------------|-----------------| | 1
2 | UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
------------------------------x | | | | | 3 | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, | | | | | 4 | v. | | | 23 Cr. 118 (AT) | | 5 | YVETTE WANG, | | | | | 6
7 | | Defendant. | Plea | | | 8 | ------------------------------x | | | | | 9 | | | May 3, 2024
9:30 a.m. | New York, N.Y. | | 10 | | | | | | 11 | Before: | | | | | 12 | HON. ANALISA TORRES, | | | | | 13
14 | District Judge
APPEARANCES | | | | | 15 | DAMIAN WILLIAMS | | | | | 16 | United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York
BY:
JULIANA MURRAY | | | | | 17 | RYAN B. FINKEL
MICAH FERGENSON | | | | | 18 | JUSTIN HORTON
Assistant United States Attorneys | | | | | 19
20 | BRENDAN QUIGLEY
Attorney for Defendant | | | | | 21 | Also Present: | | | | | 22 | Shi Feng, Interpreter (Mandarin Chinese) | | | | | 23 | | | | | | 24 | | | | | | 25 | | | | | 1 A grand jury is a group of 23 ordinary citizens that are called to jury service to hear the government's evidence in criminal cases and decide whether the evidence is sufficient to justify bringing you to trial. In order to return an indictment at least 12 of the grand jurors must vote for the indictment, finding that there is probable cause that an offense was committed and that you committed it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 16 17 18 19 20 Do you understand? THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I do, your Honor. THE COURT: You have a right to have these charges considered by a grand jury, which means that without your consent, these charges could even be brought unless approved by the grand jury, but if you waive indictment by the grand jury, the case will proceed against you based on the United States Attorney's information just as if you had been indicted. 10 11 12 13 14 15 Do you understand? MR. YANNELLA: Yes; I do, your Honor. THE COURT: My law clerk is going to show you the waiver of indictment, which I have marked as Court Exhibit No. 1. Was that waiver of indictment translated for you? THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor. I read it and in English, and I understand it. 21 22 23 THE COURT: So are you saying you did not need to have the indictment translated? 24 25 > SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 4 guilty. That means you would not have to prove that you were innocent, and you could not be convicted unless a jury of 12 people agreed unanimously that you're guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Do you understand? THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I do, your Honor. THE COURT: At trial, and at every stage of your case, you would be entitled to be represented by an attorney, and if you could not afford one, one would be appointed at public expense, free of charge, to represent you. You understand? THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: During trial, the witnesses for the prosecution would have to come to court and testify in your presence where you could see and hear them, and your lawyer could cross-examine them, and if you wanted, your lawyer could offer evidence on your behalf. You would be able to use the Court's power to compel witnesses to come to court to testify in your defense, even if they did not want to come. Do you understand? THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: At trial, you would have the right to testify if you wanted to, but you would also have to right not to testify. And if you chose not to testify, that could not be used against you in any way. No inference or suggestion of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 THE COURT: If you plead guilty, do you understand that you also have to give up your right to not incriminate yourself, because I will ask you questions about what you did 23 24 25 became a member of the conspiracy; Third, that one of the members of the conspiracy knowingly committed at least one of the overt acts charged in the information, and; Fourth, that the overt act was committed to further some objective of the conspiracy. The elements of the underlying wire fraud charge are: First, that there was a scheme or artifice to defraud a victim of money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises; Second, that the defendant participated in the scheme to defraud knowingly and with the intent to defraud, and; Third, that an interstate or international wire communication was used in furtherance of the scheme to defraud. In order no prove the defendant guilty of Count Two, the government would have to prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt: It's the same four conspiracy elements as in Count One, except that it's an unlawful agreement to conspire to commit money laundering, and; With respect to the underlying money laundering charge, the elements are: First, that the defendant conducted or attempted to conduct a financial transaction involving property constituting the proceeds of specified unlawful activity, which here is the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 wire fraud charged in Count One; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Second, that the defendant knew that the property involved in the financial transaction was the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity, and; Third, that the defendant knew that the transaction was designed, in whole or in part, to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership or control of the proceeds of the specified unlawful activity. Additionally, the government would have to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that venue in this district is proper. 9 10 11 THE COURT: Ms. Wang, do you understand that if you were to go to trial, aside from the element of venue, the government would have to prove the remaining elements beyond a reasonable doubt? THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I do, your Honor. THE COURT: And you understand that if you were to go to trial, the element of venue would have to be proved by a preponderance of the evidence? THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I do, your Honor. THE COURT: I'm going to tell you now about the maximum penalties. The maximum penalty means the most that could possibly be imposed. It doesn't mean that this is what you will receive. You have to understand that by pleading guilty, you are exposing yourself to the possibility of 21 22 23 24 25 You understand? THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: In addition to these restrictions on your liberty, the maximum punishment also includes certain financial penalties. Maximum allowable fine for each count is the greatest of \$250,000, twice the gross pecuniary gain derived from the offense or twice the gross pecuniary loss to persons other than you resulting from the offense. Do you understand that these are the possible maximum penalties for Counts One and Two? THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: For Count One, I can also order restitution to any persons or entities injured as a result of your criminal conduct. The superseding information also includes a forfeiture allegation. In the allegation, the government asserts that you are required to forfeit to the United States any and all property, real or personal, constituting or derived from any proceeds traceable to the commission of the crime charged in Count One and any and all property, real and personal, involved in the crime charged in Count Two or any property traceable to such property, including but not limited to a sum of money in United States currency representing the amount of property involved in the offense. You understand that it's possible that you could be sent to prison for ten years? 25 THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: Please understand also that I'm just telling you about the punishments that are part of the sentence. Being convicted of a felony by, even if by a plea of guilty, may have other consequences. If you're a U.S. citizen, you may lose certain valuable civil rights to the extent you have them now as a result of your guilty plea, such as the right to vote, the right to hold public office, the right to serve on a jury, and the right to possess a firearm. If you are not a U.S. citizen, your guilty plea may result in your deportation from the United States. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Did you discuss the immigration consequences of your plea with Mr. Quigley? 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 THE DEFENDANT: Yes; we did, your Honor. THE COURT: In imposing sentence, federal judges are required to consider the reasonable accommodations of the federal sentencing guidelines. The guidelines are a complicated set of rules for determining an appropriate sentence. Judges must pay attention to the sentencing guidelines in determining a sentence, but in the end, a judge is required to give the sentence that she leaves best satisfies the purposes of the criminal law, even if that is higher or lower than the guideline recommendation. Have you discussed the sentencing guidelines with your attorney? 24 25 24 25 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: If I sentence you to more than 120 months' imprisonment for any reason, you have the right to appeal that sentence, but so long as I sentence you to 120 months or less, you may not appeal your sentence under the agreement. You understand? THE DEFENDANT: Yes; I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: You understand that under the agreement, you are giving up the right to withdraw your plea or challenge your conviction on few specific grounds, which I am about to describe. First, under the agreement, you are giving up your right to withdraw your plea or to challenge your conviction on the grounds that the government has failed to produce the following categories of material as of the date of the signing of the agreement: any material that it was required to produce during discovery; statements of any government witness relating to the subject matter about which the witness would be expected to testify; material that could be used to impeach or attack the testimony of any government witness, and; material favorable to you that could cast doubt on your guilt or reduce your sentence other than information establishing your factual innocence. > Do you understand? THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: Second, under the agreement, you're also giving up the right to withdraw your guilty plea and the right to challenge your conviction or sentence based on any actual or perceived adverse immigration consequences, including deportation resulting from the guilty plea and conviction. So for example, if you are deported following your guilty plea and conviction, or if the government later turns over material that would tend to cast doubt on your guilt, other than material that establishes your innocence, you will not be able to withdraw your plea or challenge your conviction on those grounds. You understand? THE DEFENDANT: I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: Did you willingly sign the agreement? THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: Did anyone force you or bribe you? THE DEFENDANT: No, your Honor. No. THE COURT: Does the written agreement constitute your complete and total understanding of the agreement between you and the government? THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: You understand that if your attorney or anyone else has attempted to predict what your sentence will be, their prediction may be wrong? THE DEFENDANT: I understand, your Honor. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 THE COURT: I'm asking you this because no one, not your attorney or the prosecutors, not even I can be sure now what your sentence will be, because that sentence cannot be determined until I received presentence investigation report, and until I have decided what is the correct sentence calculation based on the sentencing guidelines and whether there is any basis for not following the guidelines. THE DEFENDANT: I fully understand, your Honor. THE COURT: Even if your sentence is different from what your attorney or anyone else has predicted, even if it's different from what you expect, once you've pleaded guilty, you will not be allowed to withdraw your plea. You understand? THE DEFENDANT: I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: Other than what is contained in the plea agreement, has anyone made any promise or offered you any inducement to plead guilty? THE DEFENDANT: No, your Honor. No. THE COURT: Has anyone threatened, bribed, or forced you to plead guilty? THE DEFENDANT: No your Honor. THE COURT: Has anyone made a promise to you as to what your sentence will be? THE DEFENDANT: No, your Honor. THE COURT: Now that you've been advised of the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 GTV investors, that this use of funds was improper, but I nevertheless agreed and went ahead and made the wire transfer anyway. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 In addition, before sending the money to the hedge fund, I agreed with others to transfer the money between two accounts in New York. The money was sent to the hedge fund from an account belonging to Saraca, the entity that had the agreement with the hedge fund, so it appeared the money came from Saraca. I knew what I was doing was wrong. I take my responsibility, and I'm very sorry for my actions, your Honor. THE COURT: So at the time, you knew, based on what you knew about the representations to GTV investors, that the use of funds was improper? THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: AUSA Murray, are there any additional questions that you want me to put to Ms. Wang? MS. MURRAY: Not with respect to the allocution, your Honor. 18 19 I would just ask that you confirm that the defendant understands that there's a \$100 mandatory special assessment as to each count, so it's a collective \$200 mandatory special assessment. 20 21 22 23 THE COURT: Do you understand that with respect to each count, there is a \$100 mandatory special assessment? 24 25 > SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 26 THE DEFENDANT: I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: For a total of \$200. THE DEFENDANT: I understand, your Honor. THE COURT: AUSA Murray, would you summarize what the government's evidence would be, were the defendant to go to trial. 1 2 3 4 5 6 MS. MURRAY: Yes, your Honor. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 If we were to go to trial, the government's evidence would include but not be limited to: witness testimony and other evidence that the defendant functioned as the effective chief of staff to Miles Guo, including at various of companies he controlled, which are referred to as the G Entities in the government's indictment. We would establish through bank records that the defendant was the authorized signer on various accounts that were used for fraud proceeds. We would introduce emails and other electronic communications, including communications among the defendant and coconspirators; subpoena returns, including from certain of the G Entities and from other businesses; records of domestic and international wire transfers of fraud proceeds; the contents of cell phones, including communications between the defendant, Miles Guo, and others, and; evidence regarding the defendant's transfer of \$100 million of GTV private placement funds into the Hayman Capital hedge fund for the benefit of Saraca Media Group, GTV's parent company, which was beneficially owned by Guo's son, Miles's son; and; IP logs reflecting that the defendant made that transfer from Manhattan. THE COURT: Do both attorneys agree that there is a sufficient factual predicate far guilty plea? MS. MURRAY: Yes, your Honor. MR. QUIGLEY: Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: Mr. Quigley, do you know of any valid defense that would prevail at trial? MR. QUIGLEY: No, your Honor. THE COURT: Does either attorney know of any reason that I should not accept defendant's plea of guilty? MS. MURRAY: No, your Honor. MR. QUIGLEY: No, your Honor. THE COURT: Ms. Wang, because you acknowledge that you are, in fact, guilty as charged in the superseding information S4, because I'm satisfied that you know of your rights, including your right to go to trial and that you are aware of the consequences of your plea, including the sentence which may be imposed, because I find that you are knowingly and voluntarily pleading guilty, I accept your plea and enter a judgment of guilty on Counts One and Two of the superseding information. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 The probation department will want to interview you in Defendant shall remain in custody pending sentencing. Are there any further applications by either side? MS. MURRAY: Your Honor, two minor points, just in an abundance of caution, that I would just note for the record that the defendant responded to all of the Court's questions today in English. And the second point, I would just ask your Honor to inquire whether the defendant admits to the forfeiture allegations in the information. THE COURT: You may recall that I said that the superseding information includes a forfeiture allegation. There's one with respect to Count One, and it involves any and all property, real and personal, involved in the crime charged in Count Two, and I further elaborated on that. Do you admit to that? THE DEFENDANT: Yes, your Honor. THE COURT: Anything further? MS. MURRAY: No, your Honor. Thank you. MR. QUIGLEY: Nothing from us, your Honor. Thank you. THE COURT: Counsel, I'd like you to step up, please. (Sidebar; discussion off the record) THE COURT: All right. The matter is adjourned. (Adjourned) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25