An appeals tribunal in Texas has overturned the money laundering and fraud conviction of Bahamian businessman, George Wilson, bringing an end to the four- year-old ordeal.
In 1999, a Texas jury convicted Wilson of multiple charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, mail fraud and engaging in monetary transactions involving property derived from specified unlawful activity.
But on Thursday, the three judge appellate panel ruled that the District court “clearly erred in concluding that the Government proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the discovery request was sent to the Bahamian Government.”
The decision means that since the charges against Wilson were barred by a statute of limitations which is five years, prosecutors failed to prove that a discovery request that would have suspended the limitations period was sent to the Government of the Bahamas.
Wilson’s brother, John Wilson, an attorney at McKinney Bancroft and Hughes, said his family could not have asked for a better Valentine’s Day present.
“Justice has ultimately prevailed in this case,” he told the Bahama Journal. “George has maintained all along that the charges that were brought against him and his conviction were really suspect.”
“The U.S. court appeals opinion is pretty much right on point. It is a very strong opinion and it says clearly that the conviction of George, which was based really on an alleged letter of request that was sent to the Bahamas government, was never sent.”
But there are still some procedural matters that have to be concluded before Wilson is actually released from a Texas jail.
“We are now, of course, dancing through some procedural hoops with our lawyers in Houston as to how and when we can actually facilitate his release and get him home,” his brother said.
The appeals judges in Texas also threw out Wilson’s motion that his conviction and sentence violate the Due Process clauses of the United States Constitution, ruling that the claims are “either untimely, without merit or both.”
An insurance executive, Wilson was indicted on October 26, 1998.
At the centre of the case has been Wilson’s claim that a discovery request was never sent. The district court had expressed concerns about the Government’s failure to produce a Federal Express tracking number, air bill or monthly invoice for the November 1993 letter.
In its ruling, the appeals court pointed out that the United States Government’s sole witness at the hearing on remand was a paralegal who did not work on Wilson’s case until 1996, approximately three years after the letter was allegedly sent, who had no personal knowledge of whether the disputed letter was actually mailed.
Wilson, the former president of the now-defunct Winston Hill Assurance Company was sentenced to 20 years in prison. U.S. prosecutors had accused Wilson of allegedly skimming 10 percent of the company’s insurance premiums and laundering the money, $20 million, through a bank.
U.S. attorney Michael Shelby has indicated that he will review the 5th Circuit Court decision with his staff to determine whether to appeal.
By Tameka Lundy, The Bahama Journal
