ST. CROIX — Darin Richardson self-surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service today in the St. Thomas/St. John District after a federal judge denied the former government official’s renewed motion for release pending appeal of his conviction on local and federal fraud offenses.
Richardson, who served as chief operating officer of the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority from 2020 to 2022, was sentenced on March 26 to three years in prison after a jury found him guilty on five counts connected to a VIHFA contract he awarded and a fraudulent bank application for a construction loan.
Richardson was convicted locally of criminal conflict of interest and federally of making a material false statement to a federal agent, bank fraud, making a false statement on a loan or credit application, and money laundering.
District Judge Mark Kearney sentenced Richardson in District Court on St. Thomas to six months on the federal fraud and money laundering counts and two and a half years on the local conflict-of-interest count, with the sentences ordered to run consecutively.
Attorney Darren John-Baptiste, who represents Richardson, moved the court orally at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing to allow his client to remain free on bond pending appeal. Kearney immediately denied the motion from the bench. On Friday, John-Baptiste submitted a written renewed motion for release pending appeal.
READ MORE: John-Baptiste seeks continued release for his client pending appeal in advance of Tuesday surrender
Richardson’s motion focused on several evidentiary rulings his attorney argued were improper, particularly the admission of testimony from Kimberly McCollum and summary exhibits related to Island Services Group. McCollum co-owns Island Services Group, the company that was awarded the VIHFA contract.
The defense objected to this evidence at trial as irrelevant, but the court allowed it. According to the motion, that evidence was critical to proving the criminal conflict of interest charge, which required showing Richardson had a financial interest that conflicted with his official duties. The defense contends the government could not have met that burden without it.
The appeal also raised a separate issue involving missing notes taken by federal agent Jamila Davis during an interview with Richardson. Although the government acknowledged the notes existed, they could not be located by trial. The defense argued their disappearance is significant because they relate directly to the false statement charge, raising a substantial issue for appellate review.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cherrisse Amaro filed the government’s opposition to Richardson’s renewed motion on Monday, arguing the motion fails on multiple grounds. She indicated the court already rejected Richardson’s release request at sentencing, and that his renewed filing offered no new evidence, no change in law, and no identified error in the court’s prior ruling.
Additionally, the government noted Richardson has not actually filed a notice of appeal. Without a filed appeal, Amaro noted there are no defined issues for the court to assess.
Richardson’s motion also addressed evidentiary rulings as potential appellate issues, including testimony from McCollum and issues involving Davis. The prosecution, however, called these routine trial decisions that receive heavy deference on appeal. Amaro argued the remaining evidence was strong enough to sustain the verdict regardless.
The government further noted Richardson has already received unusual leniency, noting he has remained free for more than a year after his conviction on March 5, 2025, and that his self-surrender arrangement after sentencing gave him additional time to prepare. Amaro characterized the motion as an attempt to delay the inevitable and asked the court to hold Richardson to today’s surrender deadline.
On Monday, Kearney issued an order denying John-Baptiste’s motion. Kearney indicated that he found no basis to allow Richardson to remain on release pending an anticipated timely appeal.
