Opinion
21-CR-393 (NSR)
08-10-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. ALTER LANDAU, Defendant.
ORDER
NELSON S. ROMAN, United States District Judge:
A review of the docket reveals that the instant criminal action was commenced on, or around, November 19, 2019 with the filing of a sealed complaint; Defendant Alter Landau was subsequently charged with one count of willfully and knowingly conducting, controlling, managing, supervising, directing, and owning all and part of an unlicensed money transmitting business affecting interstate and foreign commerce i.e., aiding and abetting the transmission of approximately $500,000 for the purpose of facilitating tax evasion and doing so in a manner that failed to comply with money transmitting business registration requirements set forth in federal law and regulations, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1960, in an information filed on June 10, 2021; Defendant waived a public reading of the indictment and entered a not guilty plea in a proceeding before Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause on June 10, 2021; Defendant has intended to change his plea to plead guilty as of at least July 23, 2021; a change-of-plea hearing was initially scheduled for August 9, 2021, before Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison but was cancelled due to new restrictions on entry to courthouses established in the Ninth Amended Standing Order M10-468 dated August 6, 2021; and Defendant wishes to proceed with his change-of-plea hearing via video-conferencing or telephonic conferencing.
In light of the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) pandemic, Defendant's desire to change his plea as quickly as possible, the potential exposure of COVID-19 to others if an in-person sentencing hearing were required, and in order to comply with social distancing protocols and the directives provided by the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to limit in-person court appearances due to the risk presented by COVID-19, it is the Court's determination that in order to prevent serious harm to the interest of justice. Defendant Alter Landau can and should be permitted to proceed with a changc-of-plca conference by video teleconference or by telephone conference before Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison pursuant to the CARES Act § 15002(b)(2)(A).
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the changc-of-plca conference for Defendant Alter Landau be conducted by video teleconference or by telephone conference (if video conference is unavailable) before Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison on August 11, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. The Clerk of Court is requested to terminate the motion at ECF No. 139.
SO ORDERED