Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_03-cv-03252/USCOURTS-cand-3_03-cv-03252-7/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 850
Nature of Suit: Securities, Commodities, Exchange
Cause of Action: 15:77 Securities Fraud

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ORDER [PROPOSED]

(C–03-3252 WHA)

KEVIN V. RYAN (CSBN 118321)

United States Attorney

EUMI L. CHOI (WVBN 0722)

Chief, Criminal Division

LAUREL BEELER (CSBN 187656)

Assistant United States Attorney

450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36055

San Francisco, California 94102-3495

Telephone: (415) 436-6765

Facsimile (415) 436-7234

Email: laurel.beeler@usdoj.gov

Attorneys for Plaintiff

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION,

Plaintiff,

v.

OLIVER HILSENRATH,

Defendant. 

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No. C-03 3252 WHA

ORDER [PROPOSED]

Following argument on May 10, 2006, on Rogers Joseph O’Donnell & Phillips’s

(RJOP’s) motion to withdraw, the Court orders the following: 

1. Inquiry to OIA About Assets Frozen in Switzerland

The Court is concerned about the allegation that it was not appropriate and a mistake

to ask the Swiss authorities to freeze assets totaling roughly $6.5 million that are

attributable to the sale of 350,000 shares of stock. The assets are relevant to the criminal

indictment only as part of the tax charges in counts thirteen and fourteen, and thus they

are not part of the forfeiture allegation. Accordingly, in a written request transmitted to

the Swiss authorities by the Office of International Affairs (OIA), Department of Justice,

the United States asked the Swiss authorities to lift the United States’ prior request to

government statement

Case 3:03-cv-03252-WHA Document 112 Filed 05/15/06 Page 1 of 3
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ORDER [PROPOSED]

(C–03-3252 WHA) 2

freeze these assets. According to the defense, the assets are still frozen. It is unclear

whether the Swiss authorities have their own independent freeze in place. According to

the United States, OIA is meeting with the Swiss authorities at the end of the month and

will discuss the asset freeze then. 

The Court directs the Assistant United States Attorney to inform OIA about the

Court’s concern and to tell OIA that two cases – Securities & Exch. Comm’n v.

Hilsenrath, C-03-3252 WHA, and United States v. Hilsenrath, CR 03-0213 WHA – are

affected by this snafu and that the trial dates in both cases are in jeopardy due to the

uncertainty about whether the Swiss authorities will release their freeze on the assets. 

The Court asks the United States and OIA to give this matter as high a priority as

possible. 

2. Stay Of SEC Case and Stay Of Motion To Withdraw

The circumstances described in the prior paragraph create equitable concerns and a

potential unfairness to Oliver Hilsenrath. The extent of any unfairness is not clear to the

Court, and indeed, it may not be unfair. But the equitable concerns warrant caution now

and a stay of the SEC case. Accordingly, the Court vacates the trial date and the pretrial

date in the SEC case, and it temporarily stays all discovery and discovery deadlines. The

Court also temporarily stays RJOP’s motion to withdraw as counsel pursuant to the

request of all counsel except the SEC. 

The Court does not need to set a new trial date at this time, nor does it need to address

whether and to what extent the Court will revisit issues about expert disclosure and

further discovery in the case. The Court specifically is not saying one way or another

whether it will re-open discovery and permit extensions for expert disclosures. Instead,

the Court holds only that it is unnecessary to decide these issues now and that it will

consider them when it receives more information about the assets in Switzerland and

when it addresses the issue about RJOP’s continued representation of Mr. Hilsenrath in

the SEC case. 

Case 3:03-cv-03252-WHA Document 112 Filed 05/15/06 Page 2 of 3
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ORDER [PROPOSED]

(C–03-3252 WHA) 3

3. Status Hearing On June 8, 2006

The Court sets the next hearing on June 8, 2006, at 11:30 a.m, for a report on the

status of the Swiss assets and for further proceedings on RJOP’s motion to withdraw.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: _____________________________

WILLIAM H. ALSUP

United States District Judge

Approved as to form: 

 /s LAUREL BEELER 

Assistant United States Attorney

INTERVENOR

 /s JOHN S. YUN

THOMAS J. EME

Securities and Exchange Commission

PLAINTIFF

 /s 

ALLEN J. JOSEPH

Attorney for Defendant Oliver Hilsenrath

SEC v. Hilsenrath, C-03-3252 WHA

 /s 

STEVEN KALAR

Attonrey for Defendant Oliver Hilsenrath

US v. Hilsenrath, CR 03 213 WHA

May 15, 2006

U

NITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Judge William Alsup

Case 3:03-cv-03252-WHA Document 112 Filed 05/15/06 Page 3 of 3