With the alleged fraud case against Ramon Abbas AKA Hushpuppi being moved to Los Angeles in California, his present lawyer, Gal Pissetzky will be supported by another high-class lawyer, Vicki Podberesky.
Recall that Hushpuppi who was accused by the FBI controlling a network that made millions of dollars from business email compromise frauds and other forms of fraud hired the services of Mr. Pissetzky to be his legal counsel.
Mrs Podberesky of 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 U.S. Marshals Service,
A newspaper publication gathered that Mr Pitsetssky, a top criminal defence lawyer, who is only licensed to practice in Chicago, has applied to appear Pro hac vice on behalf of the alleged fraudster in California.
According to Premium Times, 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.
Documents obtained by this newspaper showed that Mr Pitsetssky applied for 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 U.S court in California.
Mr Pitsetssky who spoke with Premium Times on Sunday evening noted that the case against Hushpuppi is far from being set to go to trial as the U.S. government is yet to turn over all the evidence.
He said the date for the next appearance has not been released yet.
-thestreetjournal
