On September 8th, a superseding indictment was returned by a Grand Jury against TelexFree owners James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler.

The pair were
originally indicted
in July, 2014 on eight counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a superseding indictment is

an indictment that replaces a previous indictment.

These indictments are usually filed when new evidence has been found and new charges need to be filed.

Wanzeler and Merrill’s superseding indictment adds an additional eight counts of “engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity” (money laundering).

The eight counts included in the superseding indictment are:

December 26th, 2013 – a wire transfer of $136,200 from TelexFree’s Fidelity Co-operative Bank account to James Merrill’s Middlesex Savings Bank account

December 26th, 2013 – a wire transfer of $500,000 from TelexFree’s Fidelity Co-operative Bank account to Carlos Wanzeler’s account at the bank

December 26th, 2013 – a wire transfer of $136,200 from TelexFree’s Fidelity Co-operative Bank account to Carlos Wanzeler’s account at the bank

26th December, 2013 – a wire transfer of $158900 from TelexFree’s Fidelity Co-operative Bank account to Carlos Wanzeler’s account

26th December, 2013 – a wire transfer of $22,700 from TelexFree’s Fidelity Co-operative Bank account to Carlos Wanzeler’s account

27th December, 2013 – a wire transfer of $3,000,000 from TelexFree’s Fidelity Co-operative Bank account to James Merrill’s Waddell & Reed Inc. account

27th December, 2013 – a wire transfer of $3,000,000 from TelexFree’s Fidelity Co-operative Bank account to Carlos Wanzeler’s account

27th December 2013 – a wire transfer of $3,500,000 from TelexFree’s Fidelity Co-operative Bank account to Carlos Wanzeler’s account

A money laundering forfeiture allegation has also been added to the indictment, requiring forfeiture of ‘any property … involved in the offenses’ with respect to the eight new counts.

According to the Speedy Trial Act, the Supreme Court has ruled that a
substantially similar 
superseding indictment filed before 30 days of a trial date has no effect on an upcoming trial date.

The new counts added in Wanzeler and Merrill’s superseding indictment are similar in nature to the rest of the indictment, but I’m not sure if that’ll count as substantive.

If not, we might see a delay in
Merrill’s scheduled trial
next month.

As it stands no trial date has been set for Wanzeler, who remains a
fugitive
in his native Brazil.

Stay tuned…

Footnote: 
Our thanks to Don@ASDUpdates for providing a copy of James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler’s Superseding Indictment (filed September 8th, 2016).

Update 20th September 2016 – 
An arraignment for the superseding indictment was scheduled for September 19th. Owing to another hearing already scheduled for October 6th, the arraignment has been rescheduled for the same date.

🤖 Quick Answer

What is a superseding indictment in legal proceedings?
A superseding indictment is a new indictment that replaces a previous one, typically filed when additional evidence emerges or new charges need to be added to an existing case. It does not dismiss earlier charges but rather supplements them with new allegations based on newly discovered information.

What additional charges were added against TelexFree owners in their superseding indictment?
The superseding indictment added eight counts of money laundering, specifically "engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity." These charges were filed in addition to the original eight counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud from July 2014.

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