As per the local rules of the District Court of Massachusetts, the James Merrill’s attorney and the US Attorney’s Office (DOJ) have filed an interim status report.

The report, filed ahead of today’s hearing (December 18th), provides some updates and insight into the status of the Wanzeler/Merrill criminal case.

On the discovery side of things,

The government has provided substantial discovery to date, including additional discovery since the last status date, but discovery is not complete.

Since the last status date, the government has produced records from two consultants employed by TelexFree during the alleged conspiracy; forms and affidavits for two postindictment search warrants for email and YouTube content; returns received as to two of the five email accounts identified in the email search warrant; and Brady disclosures based on various witness statements.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a “
Brady disclosure
” is

exculpatory or impeaching information and evidence that is material to the guilt or innocence or to the punishment of a defendant.

With these disclosures coming from the government, I’m making an educated guess that the disclosures in question are impeaching in nature.

Unfortunately who made the statements and what they witnessed (fraud in general?) has yet to be disclosed.

Most of the discovery appears to be on track for production, but there was at least one significant delay:

The government was also on track to produce, by December 10, 2014, an electronic version of the 40 boxes of material seized from TelexFree’s headquarters in April 2014, but the outside vendor processing the material made several errors that are now being fixed.

The government should be able to make that production within a few weeks (the holidays will intervene).

Other items of discovery yet to be produced by the government include:

the materials seized from TelexFree’s offices in Marlborough, Massachusetts, in April 2014

about 81 gigabytes of data (about 355,000 pages) received in October 2014 from the Trustee supervising TelexFree’s affairs in bankruptcy

materials from law enforcement authorities in Brazil, who have been aggressively investigating TelexFree’s operations in that country

This production will be large; for example, Brazilian authorities have executed about nine search warrants to date.

By the end of January 2015 the government should have a better idea of what this production will entail.

the results of three remaining email search warrants served on or about September 25, 2014

the results of a search warrant served on Google, Inc., on or about October 16, 2014, for a substantial amount of video content held by its subsidiary, YouTube

The government has been in regular contact with Google (as recently as December 16, 2014). Google reports that compliance will take several more weeks.

various recordings made by undercover HSI agents at TelexFree conferences and in conversations with a TelexFree promoter

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🤖 Quick Answer

What is the purpose of the interim status report filed in the TelexFree criminal case?
The interim status report, filed pursuant to Massachusetts District Court local rules, documents the progress and procedural updates in the Wanzeler/Merrill criminal case, providing the court with discovery status, investigative developments, and case timeline information ahead of scheduled hearings.

What discovery materials has the government provided to defendants?
The government has produced substantial discovery materials including records from TelexFree consultants involved in the alleged conspiracy, postindictment search warrant forms and affidavits for email and YouTube content, and returns related to multiple email accounts identified during the investigation.

What remains incomplete in the discovery process?
Despite significant government production of discovery materials since the previous status date, the discovery process remains incomplete, indicating ongoing document production and investigative work continuing in the case.

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