Convicted Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook testified under oath for nearly two hours Wednesday about overseas bank accounts, wire transfers, offshore business entities and a number of his former business partners and associates, hoping to persuade a federal judge to clear a contempt finding that has kept him in the Sherburne County Jail since late January.
William Mauzy, Cook's attorney, said he just wants to start serving the 25-year prison term he got handed on April 13. But that sentence won't begin until Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis purges his finding of contempt, which he imposed after learning that Cook had defied his orders to turn over assets.
Davis said Cook would have to do a lot more than he's done so far to lift the contempt finding.
At the hearing, Mauzy took Cook line by line through a government summary of financial transactions related to the $190 million fraud scheme that he ran. He had Cook explain what he's done to help recover cash and other valuables. Mauzy said Cook has met a dozen times with various groups of federal regulators, criminal investigators and attorneys with a court-appointed receivership rounding up assets.
He has answered every question put to him, Mauzy said. "There's nothing more that Mr. Cook can do."
Federal regulators and a lawyer with the receivership strongly disagreed. They argued that nearly everything Cook claims to have produced thus far was actually turned up by investigators or turned over after he failed a lie detector test. Under cross-examination, Cook admitted that he has lied to investors, regulators and investigators before.
Cook shouldn't be released until he provides documentary proof to back up what he says, they argued, and he hasn't provided it.
Davis noted that Cook is scheduled to meet with authorities again for two full days in early October. "Are you saying the meeting Oct. 5 and 6 is useless?" he prodded Mauzy. "You've now said enough is enough, there's nothing more that he can answer. Shouldn't we wait until after that meeting?"
