The second attempt for a bail release by EZjet founder Sonny Ramdeo, currently awaiting trial in the US on charges of wire fraud, was unsuccessful as Magistrate Judge Dave Lee Brannon on Monday ruled that he offered nothing new to establish that he would not be a flight risk.
“The defendant did not present any evidence which materially affected the court’s prior determination that the defendant was a flight risk. Accordingly, for the reasons articulated at the initial detention hearing, and for the reasons stated in open court at the rehearing, the court finds that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance in court and detains the defendant as a flight risk,” Judge Brannon said in his ruling, which was handed down in the Southern District Court of Florida.
It was the same judge who had earlier this year denied Ramdeo bail, deeming him a flight risk and noting that the weight of the evidence against him was very strong.
At the time, Ramdeo was represented by a state-appointed attorney and his new bail bid came via his new attorney, Valentin Rodriguez Jr.
In his new motion, Ramdeo had submitted that he did not have a fair opportunity to present evidence to show that his international travel was related to EZjet and that the circumstances leading to his arrest were not as a result of him hiding from law enforcement, but as a result of trying to resolve financial issues surrounding the airline.
Ramdeo, who said he has substantial ties to South Florida, also noted that there is an extradition treaty between Guyana and the US and therefore if he fled here he could easily be forced to return to the United States.
He stated too that he never intended to commit fraud and that there is a bona fide defence to the wire charge.
Ramdeo’s new application for bail came one day before a superseding indictment charging him with an additional six counts of money laundering was returned by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in a West Palm Beach court.
The indictment against Ramdeo alleges that from September 2003 until October of last year, he wired money into his accounts that was to have been used to cover payroll taxes for Promise Healthcare and 11 of its hospitals, for which he was payroll manager. He allegedly formed two companies, PayServ Tax and EZjet GT, to receive the money, prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, in 2011 and 2012, Ramdeo made two transfers to his account— totalling US$363,700—which was to be used for payroll taxes at a hospital in East Los Angeles. In October, he allegedly diverted US$100,828 that was to cover payroll taxes for employees of a hospital in Gonzales, Louisiana.
If convicted, Ramdeo faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of US$250,000 or greater on each count of conviction.
Ramdeo’s trial is set to begin in October.
