United States v. Motovich, 1:21-cr-00497

Defendant David Motovich was convicted after a three-week jury trial on sixteen counts including bank fraud, money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and aggravated identity theft.
After conviction, the government moved for Motovich's detention pending sentencing, which was granted by the district court and affirmed by the Second Circuit on interlocutory appeal.
Motovich's subsequent motion for bond pending sentencing was denied on grounds he failed to show by clear and convincing evidence that he was not a flight risk.
Motovich sought temporary release from custody to attend his eldest son’s religious engagement ceremony, proposing to pay for U.S. Marshals’ supervision.
The presentence report calculated a guidelines range of 262 to 327 months’ imprisonment, plus a mandatory 24 months for identity theft, and cited Motovich’s substantial financial resources and overseas connections as relevant to flight risk.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Motovich should be temporarily released	Motovich continues to present a high risk of flight due to significant resources, ties, and prior conduct	Motovich argues his family event and willingness to pay supervision mitigate risk	Denied; risk of flight persists
Effect of secured bond and proposed short release	$20 million bond is insufficient deterrence given his total wealth	Bond and timeframe (10am-10pm) are sufficient to prevent flight	Denied; short duration insufficient
Relevance of pretrial supervision record	Post-conviction standard is higher; prior compliance irrelevant	Perfect pretrial record supports release	Denied; post-verdict liberty distinct
Effect of paying for U.S. Marshals' supervision	Allowing wealthy defendants to buy release violates Bail Reform Act principles	Offer merely a voluntary, non-determinative condition	Denied; would create inequitable system

United States v. Abuhamra, 389 F.3d 309 (2d Cir. 2004) (Section 3143(a) creates a presumption for detention post-verdict)
United States v. Boustani, 932 F.3d 79 (2d Cir. 2019) (Bail Reform Act prohibits a two-tiered bail system based on wealth)