Fugitive Justin Costello denied bail in inventory, hashish fraud case

Butcher wrote that the proof itself is the least vital consider his resolution to maintain Costello in jail.

However, he added, “when taken along with the numerous [prison] sentence Defendant faces if convicted, the Courtroom finds Defendant has a severe incentive to flee.”

Costello’s lawyer, Cindy Muro, didn’t reply to messages in search of remark.

Costello, who has ties to Washington, Las Vegas and California, is due in San Diego court docket later Tuesday for one more listening to associated to his anticipated switch to Washington state to face trial.

He’s accused within the indictment of swindling hundreds of buyers and others in difficult schemes involving penny shares, shell firms and a banking agency that did enterprise with three unrelated hashish firms. The Securities and Alternate Fee has sued Costello and a second man, 44-year-old Radford, Virginia, resident David Ferraro, in a civil case alleging associated fraudulent conduct.

Amongst different allegations, Costello is accused of utilizing social media websites to coordinate false claims about publicly traded shares to govern their costs so he may revenue on the transactions.

As a part of the alleged scams, Costello falsely claimed to be price $1 billion or extra and to have served two excursions in Iraq as a member of the particular forces, the place he purportedly was shot twice. He additionally claimed to have “managed cash for rich people, together with a Saudi sheikh,” and that “he had 14 years of expertise on Wall Road,” the indictment mentioned.

“None of that’s true,” a press launch by U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for Washington state mentioned.

Prosecutors have mentioned that Costello agreed by way of his then-lawyer to give up in late September to face the indictment after being knowledgeable it was set to be filed. However he by no means confirmed up as agreed on the FBI’s workplace in San Diego, and went on the lam.

On Oct. 4, an FBI SWAT staff discovered Costello in a distant space close to San Diego, carrying a backpack containing tens of hundreds of {dollars} in U.S. and Mexican foreign money, six one-ounce gold bars, banking playing cards and checkbooks and a Washington state driver’s license within the title of “Christian Bolter.”

Prosecutors mentioned the FBI was capable of find Costello by monitoring him on his cellphone.

Costello pleaded not responsible throughout an arraignment in San Diego federal court docket every week later. He then appeared earlier than Butcher on Oct. 18 for a detention listening to, the place prosecutors requested the choose to maintain him locked up.

Butcher in his order Monday mentioned that prosecutors had “demonstrated by clear and convincing proof that [Costello] is an financial hazard to the neighborhood and that no situation or mixture of circumstances will moderately guarantee the protection of some other particular person and the neighborhood.”

The choose cited Costello’s alleged possession of “a number of paperwork matching” the driving force’s license bearing his {photograph} however the title of Bolter when he was nabbed, in addition to different gadgets that Costello may use to flee prosecution once more.