Federal prosecutors have filed their criminal case against a Maryland attorney They accused them of being involved in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $12.5 million in Somali government funds from financial institutions.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis on Friday granted prosecutors’ request to dismiss the charges against Jeremy Wyeth Schulman “with prejudice,” meaning they will not seek to revive the case.
In a court filing, prosecutors cited their “review of the pretrial evidentiary rulings” as one of the reasons for dismissing Schulman’s charges. They did not elaborate on that or any other reason.
Schulman’s lawyers asked the judge to dismiss the case last year, accusing prosecutors of “playing games” by avoiding the collection of evidence that could have benefited Schulman and withholding information that could have helped him prepare a defense.
Schulman’s attorneys also argued that the government’s delay in bringing the case prevented the defense from presenting testimony from several witnesses who could have refutated the charges.
“These improper efforts by the prosecution have proven to be an extraordinary success,” the defense attorneys wrote.
In December 2020, Schulman was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges including wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.
The Justice Department began investigating the case 10 years ago. Schulman said he learned he was under investigation in January 2017.
“It’s incredibly satisfying that this ordeal is over. It’s taken a huge toll, but I’ve kept a good attitude. I’ve had the support of some great friends and family. All of my clients have stuck by me,” he said.
Schulman said he has been able to continue his law practice despite the government’s damaging allegations.
“But the opposing side tried to use it against me in many cases, to use it to discredit me and to harm my clients. But it didn’t really work,” he said. “Judges still believe in the presumption of innocence.”
The indictment accuses Schulman and others of fraudulently attempting to gain control of hundreds of millions of dollars in assets held by the Central Bank of Somalia, in bank accounts that had been frozen amid the African country’s civil war and political instability.
The indictment also alleges that Schulman personally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation from a law firm that kept $3.3 million of the Somali assets for fees and expenses.
A trial in the case was set to begin in December before the judge agreed to dismiss it. In a ruling last year, the judge agreed that the government appeared “overly willing” to avoid witnesses likely to help Schulman’s defense.
According to defense attorney Stanley Woodward, prosecutors decided to drop the case after the judge ruled in favor of the defense on the admissibility of certain key evidence.
“They had to know they had no path to victory,” Woodward said.