news media (generic) wexhibits 09-21-2009

8/14/2019 News Media (generic) wExhibits 09-21-2009

1/11

September21st2009

NewsMedia

[generic]

RE: FEDERALPROSECUTORSABUSESOFPOWERDEPRIVEDUEPROCESS

USvSTOUFFLET:CASES1:06CR337&1:08CR0821CC

DearNewsMedia,

Iamcontactingyoutomakeyouawareoftheinjusticesbroughtuponme

bythe

U.S.

Attorneys

Office

for

the

Northern

District

of

Georgia

that

have

deprivedmeofDueProcessandviolatedmyConstitutionalRights.

InaSeptember2,2009lettertotheACLUofGeorgia,mycourtappointed

attorney,LawrenceZimmermanstated:

Myclient,priortomycourtappointment,hiredthefinestfirmsintheUnitedStatestoadvisehimonthelegalitiesofsellingpharmaceuticalsovertheinternet.HewasfromtheoutsetverydiligentinmakingsurehewasincompliancewithallfacetsofthelawineachindividualStatewhereheconductedhisbusiness.Furthermore,ifhewasevertoldthatitwasillegal, hewouldimmediatelyclosehisbusiness.Atsomepoint,theUnitedStatesAttorney'sOfficefortheNorthernDistrictofGeorgiaindictedhimforbeingadrugdealerincludingthedoctor'swhoindependentlycontractedwithhiscompany.Duringthecase,thegovernmentarguedthatMr.Stouffletislegallynotallowedtoraiseanadviceofcounseldefensewhich,asstatedabove,heclearlyspenthundredsofthousandsofdollarsobtaining.Eventually,Mr.Stouffletwhowasunderheavystressandpressureenteredaguiltyplea.Atthistime,wearetryingtowithdrawthepleabecauseMr.Stouffletwasalwaystoldbyhislawyersthathisactionswerelegal.

Page 1 of 7


2/11

Mostimportantly,theDepartmentofJusticetriedacaseverysimilartothisoneintheSouthernDistrictofFlorida.Afteramistrial,theUnitedStatesAttorney'sOfficedecidedtodismissallchargesagainstalldefendantsbasedonthefactthattheyhadanadviceofcounseldefense.Thus,IfinditunfairthattheDepartmentofJusticewouldtreatsimilarlysituateddefendantsinadifferentmanner.Obviously,theyhavetakentwoopposinglegalpositionsasitrelatestothesecases.Unfortunately,Mr.Stouffletisbeingbarredfromraisinganadviceofcounseldefenseandislookingatalongtimeinprison.

InAugust2006,approximately2yearsaftervoluntarilyclosingmy

business,IwasindictedviolatingFederalDrugDealingstatutes.Inordertofitthecrimeandobtaina51Countcriminalindictment,theU.S.

AttorneysOffice

has

concealed

evidence,

falsified

information,

and

misrepresentedthefacts.

Thegovernmentschargesallegefrom20012003,theillegalactsoccurred.

Duringthattimeperiod,thebusinesswasbeingoperatedunderthe

directionofhighlyreputable,specializedlawfirmssuchasSeyfarthShaw,

LLP;KilpatrickStockton,LLP;andArentFox,LLC.inadditiontofulltime

corporatelegalcounselwhooperatedonsitefromourcorporateoffices.

Mygood

faith

efforts

and

willfulness

to

operate

within

the

bounds

of

the

lawarewellestablishedfromthe40pluslawyersIengaged.1Atnotime

wasIinformedthatthebusinesswasillegal,muchtothecontrary,

attorneyscontinuedtoprovideusinstrumentalkeycomponentsto

implementsotheybusinessremainedcompliantwithallStateandFederal

Laws.

Oddlyenough,thisverysameU.S.AttorneysOfficehadpreviouslyin2001,

allowedmetocontinueoperatingthisverysamebusinessIhavenowbeen

indictedfor.

2

1[EXHIBITA]Flowchartoflegalcounsel2AtranscriptofaR41HearingregardingmybusinessprovidesevidencethatAUSASandyStropolli,and

FederalJudgeClaytonScofieldagreedtothereturningof businessequipmentsothebusinesscould

continueoperating.InvestigationReportsbytheFDAOfficeofCriminalInvestigationofthisverysame

businessconcludesnowrongdoings.Thisinvestigationwasperformedatmyrequest.

Page 2 of 7


3/11

DISCREDITINGTHEALLEGATIONS

CONSPIRACY:Thereisnoevidencethatsupportorsuggesttherewasanyattemptatanytimetoconspire.Thereishoweveroverwhelming

amountsof

evidence

that

disprove

and

discredit

the

governments

allegationofconspiracyintheformofhundreds,possiblythousands

oflegalinvoicesdetailingtheworkproductprovidedbythe

lawyers.Theseinvoices,establishthelawyersindepthinvolvement

inthebusiness,thatallissuesweredisclosed,andthatthelegal

adviceIreceivedwasfollowedatalltimes.Thusdiminishingany

possibilityaconspiracyeverexisted.

MONEYLAUNDERING:Thereisnoevidencethatsupportorsuggestthere

was

any

attempt

at

any

time

launder

money.

In

fact,

contrary

tothesecharges,aformerIRSagent,criminalinvestigator,Ted

Robertsonperformedanindependentfinancialinvestigation.His

findingsnegatethe44CountsofMoneyLaunderingthegovernment

alleges.Thisfavorableevidencehavebeenavoidedandconcealed

throughouttheproceedings.

MISBRANDINGOFDRUGS:Thereexistsnobasisforcriminalchargesofmisbrandingofdrugs.AtnotimewasIwasinpossessionorhad

anycontrol

of

the

controlled

substances,

therefore,

unable

to

causemisbranding.Thirdparty,independent,licensedmedical

doctorsandpharmacies,issuedandfulfilledprescriptionsthatwere

thatwereshippedtothecustomersinaccordancetoStateand

FederalLaws.Thesephysiciansandpharmacieswerelicensedand

authorizedbytheU.S.JusticeDepartment,DEA.Bindinglegal

contractsbetweenthedoctorsandthepharmacieswereadheredto

atalltimes.Thesecontractswerecraftedandconstantlyupdatedby

thelawyers.

Thelegalinvoicesreferencedabovefromthelawfirmsunequivocally

establishedmyconductaslegal.

ThelegalinvoicesdisapprovethemainCountintheindictment,Conspiracy.

Page 3 of 7


4/11

Ifthegovernmentcontendsaconspiracyexisted,thentheyarerequiredtoincludethelawyersbecausetheyareconsidered

essentialelementsthatassistedinthefurtheranceofthealleged

crimes.

Sinceitdefieslogictoconspirewithalawyer,prosecutorssimplyexcludedthelawyersinvolvementasiftheyneverexisted.Thisdocumentbeginstorevealtheextentprosecutorswillgotogaina

conviction. AUSALawrenceSommerfeldandRandyChartashhave

repeatedlyengagedindeceptionandmisrepresentationsinmycase

opposedtoupholdtheirdutiestoseektruthandjustice.

Ihavealwaysmaintainedmyinnocenceandinsistedonproceedingtotrial.

Myformer

defense

counsel

presented

and

encouraged

me

to

enter

into

aguiltypleabutIrefused.Theprosecutorsweremadeawareofmy

intentionstoproceedtotrialonseveraloccasions.IfIwerefoundguilty,I

facedseverepunishment,incarcerationof292365months(2430years).

Evenwithsuchharshexposure,Istillinsistedonproceedingtotrial.Based

onthevastamountoflegaladviceIhadinmyfavor,itwaswiththeutmost

certaintyIwouldbefoundnotguiltyandvindicated.

InJuly2007,thegovernmentdemandedIdiscloseallofmyattorneyclient

privilegedwork

product

so

they

could

adequately

prepare

for

trial.

In

November2007,asinstructedbycounsel,Iwaivedtheattorneyclient

privilegeandprovidedthegovernmentallofmyevidence.Afterseveral

delays,anda1yearsofpreparation,trialwasscheduledforMarch10th

2008.

However,tendayspriortotrial,inasuddenaboutface,prosecutorsbarred

mefrommyonlydefense,adviceofcounsel.Thegovernments

misclassificationsofallegedcrimes,ontheevebeforetrial,forbidmefrom

usingthe

legal

advice

Ihad

received

from

all

the

attorneys

during

all

the

yearsIoperatedthebusiness.Removingmyabilitytoassertanadviceof

counseldefense,leftmedefenseless.

Page 4 of 7


5/11

ThegovernmentsnewfoundpositionwasAFTERanearly4monthanalysis

ofmyallmyevidencethattheydeclared,asamatteroflaw,goodfaithdefenses,includingadviceofcounsel,wasnotanavailabledefensetome.

3

4

Theremovalofmyonlydefensewascoupledwitha72hourdeadlineto

enterintoaguiltypleaagreement.Theexpirationdatewasintentionally

settoexpirepriortoarulingonthegovernmentsmotion.

Iwasshocked,confusedtryingtocomprehendhowthiswaspossible,and

realizingthatmyonefairchancetoseekjusticeandbevindicatedwas

removed,placedmeunderimmenseduress.Itwasinthatstate,

prosecutorsrushedmeintothecourtroomthefollowingmorningtoplead

guilty.

Themannerinwhichthegovernmentobtained,analyzed,andexcludedmy

evidencedisplaystheleveloffairnessprosecutorshavechosento

conductthemselvesthroughouttheproceedings.

Inaddition,theprosecutorsabilitytoutilizethefollowingtwoconflictingpositions,Ibelieveunderminesthefundamentalfairnessinwhich

criminalproceedingsaretobeconducted:

"Ignoranceofthelawisnoexcuse"and

"Adviceofcounselisnotanavailabledefense"Ifoneisnotlearnedofthelaw;howishetoknowwhatislegalandillegal

andcannotrelyonwhathislawyerstellhim?

ThreedaysafterIpleadguilty,theCourtruledthatthegovernmenthad

incorrectlymisclassified

the

crimes

and

advice

of

counsel

would

have

beenanavailabledefensetome.SinceMarch2008,Ihaveworked

diligentlyseekingtohavetheguiltypleawithdrawnsoIcouldbeprovideda

302/28/2008MotioninLimine (Doc217)

4Itisreasonabletobelievethattheattorneysandlawfirmswouldhaveforewarnedmethatthelegal

advicewassubjecttobeingexcluded.AtnotimewasIeverinformedorgivenanyreasontobelievethat

thiswasevenpossible.

Page 5 of 7


6/11


7/11


8/11

Craig

Bertchi

Laura

FennRalphGaskins, MD

Gerald

Woods

Phillip

Street

David

Barger

Phyllis

Granade

Clint

Fletcher

Nick

Stanislo

Phillip

Street

Tom

Harney

Adrian

WhiteMindy

Pillow

Emily

StreettHoward

Young

Jefferson

Gray

Bob

Waters

Jeff

Peters

Deborah

Shelton

Wayne

Matelski

Alan

Reider

Tony

Pavel

Sarah

Crispi

James

KaminskiHarvey

Yampolsky

Allison

Shuren

Jeff

Archer

Rich

HydeMike

Hemios

Bruce

Malloy

Rick

Collins

Michael

Bowers

Roy

Lucas

Dorothy

Kirkley

Mel

Hewitt

Darren

Traub

Craig GillenCRIMINAL ATTORNEY

Buddy ParkerLEAD

CRIMINAL ATTORNEY

Jerome FroelichCRIMINAL ATTORNEY

John

NassikasJoseph

Gatewood


9/11


10/11

LA W O F ~ I C E : SLAWRENCE J. ZIMMERMAN. Pc.SUITE 3 0 0

1 8 0 0 P EA CH TR EE S TR EE T, N.W.A T L A N T A , G E O R G I A 3 0 3 0 9

OFFICE 4 0 4 - 3 5 1 - 3 0 0 0FA X 4 0 4 + 3 5 2 - 5 6 3 6

BOARD OF D IRECTORSGEORGIA ASSOCIATION OF" CRIMINAL DEFENSE: LAWYERS

EMAIL: l l ! w J Z i m m @ ~ h o o . c o m

June 29, 2009

i

The Honorable Eric Holder, Esq.Attorney General of the United States of AmericaU.S. Department of Justice950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20530-0001RE: United State v. Christopher Stoufflet. In the United States D i f i t d d Court forthe Northern District of GCOI-gia, Atlanta Division;

Case No. 1:08-CR-00082, Dear Mr. Holder:My client, Mr. Stouffiet, was indicted and charged in the Northern District of Georgia fordistributing pharmaceuticals on the internet including other charges such as money launderingand misbranding of drugs. I am writing Ollt of great concern because your office has taken twoopposite positions in two separate jurisdictions (Northern District of Georgia and the SouthernDistrict of Florida) abollt raising an advice of counsel defense ~ ~ t h regards to these operations.One position resulted in the dismissal of c h a r g ~ s for one set of defendants and another position inour jurisdiction has resulted in my client pleading guilty. I would like ta provide you with a briefbackground surrounding the issues.Without going into great detail about the day to day operations of tbe business, m,Y dieM, withthe advice ofmany lawyers at reputable firms such as Arent Fox and Kilpatrick and Stoe;1;[on, setup a website where consumers could request prescription weight loss pills fr07!1 a licensedphysician. Once the order was placed, approved prescriptions were forwarded to I i c e l l ~ dpharmacies. Because this was sllch a gray area of law at the time, 2001-2003, (Ryan lhighl hillhas since been enacted), Mr. Stouffiet thought it was necessary to seek legal counseL In addition,Mr. Stouffiet wrote Mr. David Ogden, Deputy Attorney General and the DEA seeking advice.Over a period of years, Mr. Souffle's stable of lawyers, including his in-house counsel, wouldconsult with each other to determine what needs to be done in orde, to SlaY in compliance withall State and Federal laws. When Mr. Stoufflet was indicted, he hired very reputable atturneys.not my law firm, to defend his case by raising the affirmative defense of advic'" of cOl'llseL Asnoted above, with regards to the running of this business, he received a plethora of advice iro7!1not only his corporate attorneys but also Wilmer "Buddy" Parker, a fanner fed-:ral prosecutor.The only reason he had these numerous lawyers was to remain in c o m p l i ~ U 1 c e w ~ t h CLlrrent law.Once his case was ready for trial, the Government filed a motion in limine to exc1ucie his d e L ~ , n s e


11/11

of advice of counsel arguing that it was barred from being raised against general intent crimes.And, according to the prosecution, this was a crime of general intent. Ther. Mr. Stouffle! wasgiven a deadline to accept or reject it prior to the court's ruling. After feeling very pressured withthe government moving to exclude his sole defense, he believed, once he conferred with hisdefense team, that he was left with no choice but to enter into a guilty plea. The Court renderedits ruling for the remaining defendant that advice of counsel is a defense and can be raioed attrial.Subsequently, Mr. Stoufflet terminated the lawyers who had represented him becauss he wasunhappy with the situation. At that point, the Honorable Court appointed me to represcnt himdue to the fact that he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea. We are stili in Ole middle ofevidentiary hearings and not due to return to court wltil September 2009. In the interim. theUnited States Attorney's Office for the Southern District ofFlorida was prosecuting another webbased pharmaceutical case alleging conspiracy to distribute. See United States. v. Hewandg,Case No. 07-60027-CR-ZLOCH. It is my understanding that the facts and circumstances of thiscase are very similar to my client's situation. As a matter of fact, the prosecution in theHernandez case also filed the same motions in limine to exclude advice of counsel defenses. TheHernandez case went to a jury trial and resulted in a mistrial after some of the jurors were caughtconducting research about the case on the internet.Eventually, this case was set for a jury trial again, except stunningly, the United StatesAttorney's Office decided to dismiss all charges against not only the defendant', awaiting re-trial, but they moved to vacate the prior guilty pleas of the other defendants who did not have ajury trial. See enclosed COPy of United States' Motion to Dismiss Indictment. According to thecourt order and the defense lawyers, it was based on the fact that those defendanTS had an adviceof counsel defense. Thus, as I stated in at the beginning of my Jetter, this has caused me greatconcern about these similarly situated defendants being treated dissimilarly by the United StatesDepartment of Justice.Although the prosecutors in our case may ethically and legally prosecute my clienl, he should notbe treated differently than other defendants just because they arc in a dilkrenl d i s l r j ( ~ i . Byprosecuting someone who has relied on his lawyer's advice is extremely unjust; the r e a ~ . ( ) n myclient sought legal counsel was to avoid any civil andlor criminal legal issues Why wouldanyone seek out an attorney if they cannot rely on that advice? This was a very complex matterwhich required attorneys specializing in the field of health care law to render advice. Rf?ccntly,your office discussed not prosecuting any CIA interrogators surrounding torture b e c a l ; s ~ theywere advised by lawyers that this was legal. I believe my client should be accorded the sametreatment as everyone else since be too relied on legal counsel. Therefore. I mn respeclfullyasking that you look into this issue.

~ o _ u . " r s ~ , . . . . . . , , . , , . . . : : : . - cLawrenceJ. erman

news media (generic) wexhibits 09-21-2009

Documents