Case against accused Ponzi-schemer halted

The criminal case against accused Ponzi-schemer Eliyahu Weinstein has ground to a temporary halt while the embattled Lakewood developer straightens out his legal representation.

Last week, U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Esther Salas granted a continuance until Jan. 17 to give Weinstein time to secure a lawyer and for anticipated plea negotiations to begin. This is the second continuance granted in the case; the first expired Oct. 31.

Weinstein was arrested in August on two counts of fraud in which he was accused of bilking victims out of about $200 million. A co-defendant, Vladimir Siforov, remains at large.

Weinstein's attorney, New York-based Ephraim Savitt, wrote to Salas Oct. 14 asking to be relieved from representing Weinstein because he was not being paid.

The judge then gave Weinstein until Dec. 6 to secure an attorney, and scheduled another status conference for Dec. 9 "to address the issue of defendant's retention of counsel and related matters."

In an Oct. 22 letter responding to Savitt's note, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zach Intrater and Mark Coyne told the judge that they took no position on Savitt's request, but noted that Savitt is "only the latest of a long list of lawyers that defendant Weinstein has retained in some capacity or another in various matters involving allegations of fraud."

Weinstein has been accused of fraud in civil court by a number of his former investors. Savitt was also his "unofficial" attorney in one of those matters, but asked to be relieved of that duty in a Sept. 2 letter to the court.

The reason, Savitt wrote then, was that a proper retainer agreement could not be reached.

Savitt said in an e-mail Tuesday that he is still acting as Weinstein's attorney in the criminal case, and that no plea negotiations would begin "until the issue of long-term representation has been clarified."