ST. CROIX — The federal criminal trial of Davidson and Sasha Charlemagne has been postponed until February 2027, with U.S. District Judge Mark Kearney issuing a new order Tuesday rescheduling jury selection and trial and establishing revised deadlines for pretrial proceedings.
Under the October 27 order, jury selection and trial are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. February 8, 2027, at the Ron de Lugo Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in St. Thomas.
The order cancels the final pretrial conference scheduled for Thursday and the previous jury selection and trial dates of November 2 and 3.
Kearney scheduled a new final pretrial conference for 1 p.m. February 3, 2027, to be held virtually.
The judge said the latest changes followed a telephonic status conference Monday addressing the need to amend his July 1 order because of evidentiary disputes, competing trial schedules, and independently confirmed prepaid travel conflicts.
Kearney also cited the defendants’ speedy trial waivers and found that proceeding sooner than the agreed-upon trial date would deny them reasonable time for adequate and effective preparation, potentially making an orderly and fair proceeding impossible or resulting in a miscarriage of justice. He concluded that the ends of justice served by granting the continuance outweighed the best interests of the public and the defendants in a speedy trial.
The new order also amends prior orders issued October 20, 22, and 26 concerning pretrial obligations.
Among the revised deadlines, the parties must submit supplemental proposed voir dire questions by January 8, 2027. The parties also must resubmit electronic copies of all exhibits to the Clerk’s Office through a secure online file-sharing program as soon as possible and no later than January 15, 2027.
Prosecutors must provide any outstanding witness statements covered by the Jencks Act by February 1, one week before jury selection and trial are scheduled to begin. The order also sets a deadline for prosecutors to respond to the defendants’ exhibit objections.
The court also extended the deadline for prosecutors to respond, by November 9, to defense motions seeking rulings on evidence related to information allegedly produced later in the proceedings.
Subpoenas that have been properly served will remain in effect until the rescheduled trial.
The case involves allegations that the married couple fraudulently obtained more than $3.1 million in federal disaster recovery funds through a scheme involving false certifications, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and falsified employee timesheets.
According to prosecutors, Davidson Charlemagne, while serving as district and later territorial director of maintenance for the Virgin Islands Department of Education, arranged for his company, D&S Trucking, to receive the bulk of a Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority contract involving hurricane recovery lumber funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Prosecutors allege he falsely certified that D&S Trucking had the liability insurance required to qualify as a subcontractor and concealed that he was already being paid to perform substantially the same work. The government has said approximately $3.177 million flowed to the Charlemagnes through the arrangement.
Prosecutors also allege the couple submitted false timesheets claiming Sasha Charlemagne worked as a warehouse manager while she was outside the territory, resulting in fraudulent reimbursement requests paid with federal disaster recovery funds.
Davidson Charlemagne is charged with fraud involving federally funded programs, wire fraud, nine counts of presenting false claims to the United States, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Sasha Charlemagne is charged with wire fraud, nine counts of presenting false claims, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Federal fraud trial for Davidson and Sasha Charlemagne postponed to February 2027
WTJX/Tom Eader
