ST. CROIX — A jury found Darin Richardson guilty today on all five counts including bank fraud, money laundering, and criminal conflict of interest in connection to his duties as the former chief operating officer of the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority and a multi-million-dollar contract the VIHFA awarded to Island Services Group LLC for the management of lumber.
After one day of deliberations, the jury found Richardson guilty of a local charge of criminal conflict of interest, and four federal charges — bank fraud, money laundering, making a materially false statement, and making a false statement on loan and credit applications. Richardson stared forward as the jury foreman read the guilty verdicts for all five charges.
The government did not move for detention pending sentencing. Judge Wilma Lewis told Richardson he would remain on his same pre-trial release conditions pending sentencing. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
Attorney Darren John-Baptiste, who represents Richardson, said he plans to appeal the convictions.
“On to the next step,” he said, declining further comment.
The judge denied a motion for mistrial requested by the defense today. The motion had to do with a statement the prosecution made during its rebuttal while presenting closing arguments on Tuesday.
John-Baptiste told the court during a hearing on the motion held this afternoon that he was “pretty sure” Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Huston indicated payments were made to ISG owner Morris Anselmi, and not to Island Services Group. He requested for the court reporter to read back the statement Huston made during his rebuttal.
Huston told the court that he thought he said the checks were paid to ISG. He said, however, the checks were written to ISG and signed by Anselmi, so the connection was one in the same. He also clarified all the checks were admitted into evidence during the trial, so there was no new evidence.
Lewis said she denied the motion for mistrial because it was “grossly untimely,” and that she would not go back and look at the transcript to clarify Huston’s statement. She said while discussing the matter late this afternoon that she had just received a note that the jury reached a verdict. She told John-Baptiste his objection should have been made at the time of the alleged impropriety. She further noted the jury was instructed that statements made by attorneys during closing arguments are not evidence.
After beginning with two days of jury selection, the trial continued on February 20 as the jury began hearing testimony.
Following eight days of testimony, including testimony offered by the defendant, the attorneys presented their closing arguments Tuesday afternoon.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cherrisse Woods reminded the jury that during her opening statement at the beginning of the trial she said the case was about “greed and misconduct.”
“There is no piece of evidence that supports that notion more than the defendant’s own words, which you heard during testimony,” she said.
Woods said Richardson’s intention was not to prioritize the interests of the people of the Virgin Islands or safeguard federal funds like his duties as chief operating officer at the Housing Finance Authority required him to do. She told the jury that Richardson testified that his goal was to enrich himself by accumulating generational wealth. She said individuals cannot manipulate the system for their own self-interest, suggesting Richardson “crossed the line.”
Woods, while discussing the charge of bank fraud, said Richardson submitted a “fake” construction estimate to Banco Popular with his construction loan application and lied to the bank by indicating the loan funds would be used solely for construction at his residence in Estate Bordeaux. She said he used $50,500 of the loan funds and combined it with a payment of $107,000 he received from Anselmi, the ISG owner, to purchase property in Estate Fortuna.
Woods told the jurors that Richardson wanted them to believe his actions were not improper. She questioned why Richardson waited until after he received the payment from Anselmi to send an email to the VIHFA executive director requesting to be recused from any matters relating to ISG. She also questioned why Richardson continued signing checks to ISG. She said it was part of a financial arrangement between him and the owner of ISG, describing it as a conflict of interest that the defendant knew about.
“The defendant had a duty to serve the people of the Virgin Islands, but instead he served himself, and when he got caught, he tried to explain it away,” Woods said.
Woods went through each count individually and discussed the evidence against Richardson that was presented during trial by displaying documents to the jury in a computer slideshow presentation. She said the defense would try to “twist up the evidence” and create distractions to steer away from the truth. She told the jurors that she was confident they would see through those tactics and return guilty verdicts.
“The evidence in this case tells us that the defendant used his position as COO of HFA for personal financial gain,” she said.
Richardson’s attorney, John-Baptiste, told the jury the government used “smoke and mirrors,” while pointing out Woods indicated he would try to “twist facts.” He said all he would do is point out what the facts were. He said the evidence showed that his client had tasks he needed to perform as chief operating officer. He said Richardson was not reviewing any documents relating to ISG, but that he simply signed checks to the company. He said there was nothing “fake” about the construction estimate Richardson submitted to the bank. He said licensed contractor Royston David, owner of Four Star Construction, did not have any problem signing the estimate prepared by Richardson, who has experience as a contractor in Florida, because he was satisfied Richardson presented a “good estimate.”
John-Baptiste, who pulled up various documents on his computer to display to the jury, said his client indicated he left his job as chief operating officer at the VIHFA to establish generational wealth. He clarified his client did not go into government coffers or receive money in exchange for something. He said Richardson knew he had already invested his own money into his construction project, and he needed money to purchase property in Estate Fortuna. He said the allegation of bank fraud connected to using $50,500 of loan funds to purchase the property was really Richardson reimbursing himself for the money he had already spent toward construction. John-Baptiste said his client received an investment from Anselmi that had nothing to do with what Richardson did at the VIHFA. He asked the jury to enter not guilty verdicts after considering all the evidence, or the lack thereof.
The prosecution then made its rebuttal argument, during which Huston discussed the timeline of events relating to the allegation of conflict of interest, as well as the financial interest of $107,000 tied to the conflict-of-interest claims. He discussed Richardson’s credibility as a witness, urging the jurors to use common sense and good judgment while submitting that the evidence showed a serious credibility issue. He said the only reason Anselmi wired Richardson the $107,000 was because Richardson served as chief operating officer at the VIHFA, which awarded Anselmi’s company, ISG, the lumber management contract that grew to $4.4 million. Huston told the jurors he was confident they would return guilty verdicts after evaluating Richardson’s credibility and using common sense.
Richardson’s case is tied to an indictment charging Davidson and Sasha Charlemagne in connection to the contract the Housing Finance Authority awarded ISG for the management of the lumber. The married couple pleaded not guilty to charges related to the theft of disaster relief program funds during their initial arraignment on June 20, 2024.
READ MORE: “Charlemagnes plead not guilty to federal charges related to theft of disaster relief program funds”
Davidson Charlemagne allegedly proposed for Anselmi to submit a bid response to the request for proposals for the management of the lumber, with his company, D&S Trucking, serving as the subcontractor. The Charlemagnes were subsequently arraigned on new charges of false claims connected to timesheets filled out for the management of the lumber.
Both of the Charlemagnes are charged in a second superseding indictment with money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud, and nine counts of making false claims upon the United States by allegedly submitting fraudulent timesheets indicating that Sasha Charlemagne had worked multiple eight-hour days at the woodpile site despite not being physically present in the territory. Davidson Charlemagne is also charged with fraud concerning programs receiving federal funds.
Richardson’s case was severed from the case involving the Charlemagnes, so he stood trial alone. The Charlemagnes are scheduled to appear in District Court for a calendar call on April 10.
