Davidson and Sasha Charlemagne at the V.I. District Court on St. Croix. Photo Credit: WTJX.
The case against Davidson and Sasha Charlemagne moves forward today with the continued deposition of a key prosecution witness. To facilitate the process, District Court Judge Mark Kearney granted a defense counsel request for access to the pre-trial diversion/deferment agreement between the government and Morris Anselmi, whose testimony the defense says they mean to impeach.
The Charlemagnes , alongside former Housing Finance Authority COO Darin Richardson, were arrested in June 2024 in connection with a $4 million HUD fraud scheme. Mr. Richardson was tried, convicted, and sentenced to three years in prison this March, while the Charlemagnes’ trial is scheduled to begin this summer.
The scheme, prosecutors allege, involved Mr. Anselmi’s company Island Services Group submitting an inflated and ultimately fraudulent bid to VIHFA on behalf of the Charlemagnes’ company D&S Trucking. The ISG bid was reportedly selected as the winner by Mr. Richardson. After the company was awarded the associated contract, Mr. Richardson was reportedly paid by an ISG representative the following year.
Apart from his alleged involvement in the VIHFA “woodpile” scandal, Mr. Anselmi and ISG co-owner Kimberly McCollum stand accused of stealing $500,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds. They were scheduled to be tried in July, but earlier this month, prosecutors agreed to temporarily halt proceedings in that case pursuant to pretrial diversion agreements between the government and the defendants. The agreements, the parties agreed, would be filed under seal.
However, with Mr. Anselmi scheduled to testify in the Charlemanges’ trial as a government witness, their defense attorneys filed a motion asking the court to unseal the pretrial diversion agreement. The defendant's right to confrontation requires that they be provided with a copy of the agreement, the attorneys argue, so that his statements at deposition can be properly cross-examined.
Government prosecutors pushed back, arguing that completely unsealing the agreement would violate requirements that these pretrial agreements be kept confidential. However, they suggested that the court could review the materials and release only that which is relevant to the Charlemagnes’ matter. The documents would be released only to attorneys for Sasha and Davidson Charlemagne, thus retaining confidentiality from the wider public.
On Friday, Judge Kearney agreed with that approach, partially granting the Charlemagne’s motion and ensuring that the information sought by the defense would be accessible to them while still remaining tightly controlled to preserve the needed confidentiality.
The resumption of Mr. Anselmi’s deposition this week is to allow for his cross-examination by the defense.
Advertisements
