on the crypto
Riccardo tweeted about his release and relief after being released, posting a statement on his Twitter account stating:
“I am very happy that the US court released me. I am actively working with my lawyers on the way back to South Africa as soon as possible so that I can address this issue and take it with me once and for all. That's what I've always wanted to do ».
Fraud allegations
According to various press reports, the judicial documents showed that Spagni was involved in a judicial proceeding relating to various allegations of fraud against him. The court case alleged that Spagni committed invoice payment fraud when he was working as a computer scientist. Manager of a cookie company called Cape Cookies.
An imperfect case, according to the lawyers
Spagni's lawyers also released a statement, responding to the original filing and allegations, calling the case a "fatally flawed case".
"During the decade in which South Africa has investigated, charged, filed, re-examined and reloaded a fatally flawed case against him, Spagni regularly and systematically appeared in South African court and communicated with local authorities regarding both his case and other legal issues on which South Africa has enlisted its assistance ”.
After his arrest and release, another message began circulating on Twitter stating that Spagni had been arrested for a misunderstanding about the court dates.
The accusations against Spagni
Riccardo Spagni has had these charges against him since 2011, claiming he committed fraud by issuing false invoices when he was an IT manager for Cape Cookies and defrauding his former employers in the amount of $ 100.000. Court documents claim that Spagni allegedly used the fake invoices he got from another company, Esync, and hijacked payments to his bank account, as well as inflating the prices of Cape Cookies products. Spagni faces extradition to South Africa with current charges.
US courts have previously denied bail
Previously, a US court denied Spagni bail before his extradition hearing; Spagni was considered a high risk due to his personal wealth of $ 800.000. Spagni was being held in the custody of the US Marshals without a bond due to his risk of escape. The judge, while denying the bail, stated:
“If Spagni had notified the South African court of his situation… or if Spagni had taken any steps to recognize that he was required to appear in the charges against him and needed to remedy his early absence, the court could come to a different conclusion. He did not, and therefore the court considers that Spagni has not established with clear and convincing evidence that he does not represent any risk of flight and that it would arise in future judicial proceedings ”.
