have received Justice Denied for Five Men Convicted Of Financial My codefendants and I soon sold almost Iseveral years. I’ve read about many $6.5 million in notes to clients, acquain- people wrongly convicted of murder or Crimes Committed By Con Artist tances and family members. I sold about rape. I felt that my wrongful convic- $1 million in notes. Our clients included tion somehow wasn’t worthy or as bad – The David Cawthon Story lawyers, retired teachers and certified as what happened to those people. But public accountants (CPA). One client the realization finally hit me; I am By David Cawthon was a federal assistant United States serving 210 months – 17-1/2 years – attorney (AUSA) who invested for a crime about which I still know very Virgil Womack was president of GFI, its $100,000 in GFI notes. Conventional wisdom little. While conspiracy to launder monetary chief executive officer and he controlled the would dictate that if someone is running a instruments may not seem as “bad” as rape company. I met Womack maybe twice. Yet scam the absolute last person on Earth he or or murder, the time in prison is just as real, even though I had little contact with Wom- she wants involved is an AUSA! Furthermore, the horror of being wrongly convicted just ack and no involvement in GFI’s manage- that AUSA was the brother of one of my as sickening, and just as repressive. ment, the federal prosecutor would later codefendants who invested his family’s life imply I was one of the schemes “kingpins.” savings in GFI notes. That codefendant’s Years before my conviction, seemingly in parents also purchased GFI notes. Simple log- another life, I was a financial planner and There were three primary “selling points” for ic dictates a person involved in a scam isn’t insurance broker. I had built up a client base the promissory notes. First they were insured going to jeopardize his family’s money and and over about 14 years had secured con- by a company, Keyes International, which was that of his brother and parents! tracts with 102 insurance companies. In in turn reinsured by Lloyds of London. Sec- early 1997 I was told about a financial op- ond, we had a “due diligence” letter from an But we thought all was on the “up and up.” portunity by a business associate, who was attorney stating the insurer (Keyes) was stable. We had no reason to think otherwise. A later to be a codefendant. Global Financial Third, GFI claimed assets of $1.2 billion. Fi- CPA would later testify that he thought Investments (GFI) was planning to issue nally, we had Womack, the man behind GFI, Womack was a “billionaire philanthropist short-term corporate promissory notes to checked by the FBI. The FBI reported that who could most certainly do what he said.” individuals much like banks issue certifi- while they could not actively approve of doing In the end, we were all hustled by Womack. cates of deposit. The notes matured (came business with someone, nothing detrimental At trial, the federal prosecutor asserted that due) in 9 to 12 months and paid a higher could be found regarding Womack or GFI. As involvement of the CPA and the AUSA was interest rate than banks and insurance com- brokers we were furnished with numerous all part of our “master plan.” Our prosecutor panies. documents that verified GFI could perform exactly as Womack represented. Cawthon continued on page 11 hat became known as the ‘”Detroit Federal Prosecutor Indicted del-Ilah Elmardoudi. The case was known as Wsleeper cell” terrorism case began six United States v. Koubriti, et al. 1 All four days after September 11, 2001, when a De- For Frame-up Of Four Men men were accused of fraud and misuse of troit apartment was searched by federal visas, permits and other documents; conspir- agents looking for a person on the FBI’s Innocent Of Terrorism acy to commit those offenses; fraud related to Terrorist Watch List. That man, Nabil al- identification documents; and providing ma- Marabh, was not found. However, the dis- By Hans Sherrer terial support or resources to terrorists. The covery of fake identity documents during the terrorism charge was the most serious. It was search led to the arrest of the three men from smoked hashish and didn’t seem religious. largely based on information provided by northern Africa who were in the apartment. Hmimssa, and the alleged similarity between Assistant United States Attorney Richard a sketch in a day planner found during the Ten days after the raid, on September 27, Convertino was assigned as lead prosecutor September 2001 apartment search and a mili- 2001, a federal indictment alleging fraud and in the case. About a month after the indict- tary hospital in Amman, Jordan. Convertino misuse of visas, permits and other docu- ment Convertino induced Hmimssa to coop- and his team speculated the hospital was a ments, was issued against two of those men, erate by using the threat of the 81 years in possible terrorist target. Karim Koubriti and Ahmed Hannan, and a prison he was facing in three unrelated fed- third man, Youssef Hmimssa, whose fake eral theft and fraud cases. However, during Six days before the trial’s scheduled start the I.D. was found during the apartment search. the next four months Hmimssa consistently U.S. launched its invasion of Iraq. The judge Koubriti and Hannan worked as dishwash- denied that any of the men were involved in denied a defense motion to delay the trial so ers, and Hmimssa was an illegal Moroccan terrorism. Then beginning in March 2002 he the possible inflammation of prejudice by immigrant arrested on September 28. suggested Koubriti and Hannan were terror- jurors against Muslims accused of terrorism ists, and he provided “details” during many could subside. The motion was denied and The three men denied any involvement in meetings with investigators conducted with- the trial began on March 26, 2003. It was the terrorism, nothing seized during the search out his attorney present. first post-9/11 terrorism trial in the U.S. plainly linked them to terrorism, and when interviewed by the FBI, a former roommate Indictment and trial of alleged Under a plea agreement recommending he of Koubriti and Hannan described them as Detroit “sleeper cell” terrorists would serve no more than 46 months impris- lazy pot-smoking drunks who didn’t prac- onment if he testified as a friendly government tice any religion. He also said he never On August 28, 2002, a superceding four count witness, Hmimssa pled guilty on April 3, to 10 heard them talk about anything related to indictment was issued against Koubriti, Han- counts of identity theft and credit card fraud terrorism. Hmimssa also described the two nan, and two other men, Farouk Ali-Haimoud charges resulting from federal indictments in men to interrogators as heavy drinkers who (who worked at an ice cream shop) and Ab- Convertino continued on page 38 JUSTICE DENIED: THE MAGAZINE FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED PAGE 10 ISSUE 32 - SPRING 2006 Convertino cont. from page 10 Convertino’s deceit comes to light after material, and in December 2004 he ordered his removal from the Koubriti case the government to respond to the defense Michigan, Iowa and Illinois. 2 Hmimssa’s tes- motion in light of the new information. timony was the only evidence directly tying On September 4, 2003, Convertino and his the four defendants to terrorism. During his co-counsel were removed from the case. The On August 31, 2004, the government filed five days of testimony Hmimssa described the federal prosecutor who took over the case soon its response to the defendant’s motion for a men as devout Muslim extremists, and discovered that Convertino had failed to dis- new trial. The 60-page response conceded claimed Elmaroudi was the ringleader of their close significant Brady discovery evidence to the prosecution committed multiple Brady alleged plans that included smuggling terrorist the defendant’s lawyers. The concealed evi- violations that prejudiced the due process “brothers” into the U.S. The defense was dis- dence included: multiple aerial photos of the rights of the defendants to a fair trial. The advantaged in challenging Hmimssa’s testi- military hospital; multiple exculpatory witness response concluded, “the government re- mony because his contradictory pre-March statements; the assessment of multiple govern- spectfully concurs in defendants’ new trial 2002 statements to investigators hadn’t been ment analysts, including a CIA expert, that the requests and hereby moves to dismiss Count disclosed by Convertino to the defendants. day planner sketch did not match the hospital I without prejudice.” 6 On September 2, layout, and the suggestion of Air Force ana- 2004, Judge Rosen vacated Elmaroudi, Han- Convertino also presented two witnesses who lysts that it was an outline of the Middle East. nan and Koubriti’s convictions, and the ter- testified that a sketch in the seized day plan- That Air Force assessment was consistent with rorism charges were subsequently dismissed. ner matched the physical layout of a military Convertino’s failure to also disclose, “that hospital in Jordan. One witness was an FBI Nasser Ahmed, a Yemeni man, had told [FBI Convertino’s Privacy Act lawsuit agent involved in the investigation, Michael Special Agent Michael] Thomas that his men- Thomas, and another was Harry Smith III, tally unstable brother Ali Ahmed might have Convertino filed a federal lawsuit on Febru- who aided Convertino’s investigation as the been doodling in the day planner and drawn a ary 13, 2004, alleging harm from violations Assistant Regional Security Officer for the map of the Middle East.” 3 of his rights under the Privacy Act.