The trial for former NFL team owner Reggie Fowler and alleged “shadow banker” who was accused of fraud and money laundering is set to begin early next year.
Reggie Fowler, a former NFL franchise owner and suspected “shadow banker,” has been scheduled to stand trial in 2022.
Fowler is the accused operator of Crypto Capital, a crypto-focused shadow bank that was at the centre of a legal battle between iFinex Inc, the parent company of crypto exchange Bitfinex, and Tether, the stablecoin issuer.
According to court records filed on Wednesday, United States District Judge Andrew Carter of the Southern District of New York has scheduled a jury selection and trial date for Feb. 14, 2022, which could vary depending on future pandemic-related restrictions.
Fowler is accused of providing unlawful money-transmitting services to multiple crypto businesses, as well as bank fraud and money laundering on behalf of Columbian drug gangs, according to US prosecutors.
In February of this year, a dispute against Bitfinex and Tether was concluded, in which iFinex was accused of commingling funds between the two corporations to cover up an $850 million loss sustained by Bitfinex in its transactions with Crypto Capital.
The companies were sentenced to pay $18.5 million in civil fines and to cease trading in New York.
The prosecution against Fowler, however, is still proceeding after he turned down a guilty plea agreement that would have put him on the hook for $371 million. According to reports, the number was calculated using the revenues from his suspected misdeeds.
In the records, US federal prosecutor Audrey Strauss stated that the “parties are not currently engaged in plea discussions and do not anticipate continuing negotiations,” implying that a settlement will be unlikely, as in the case of iFinex.