Appearing virtually before a federal magistrate judge Monday morning, Morris Anselmi pleaded not guilty to two-year-old federal wire fraud charges stemming from the alleged theft of half a million dollars in COVID-19 relief funds.
Anselmi and co-defendant Kimberly McCollum were first indicted two years ago, but proceedings have moved at a snail’s pace because of health issues that prevented Anselmi’s return to the territory. His initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Emile Henderson III came days after U.S. Marshals formally processed Anselmi’s arrest in Texas, where Anselmi’s attorney said he is living at a medical center and awaiting a heart transplant.
The delays in Anselmi’s case also complicated proceedings in the separate federal fraud case against Davidson and Sasha Charlemagne, in which Anselmi is a key figure and likely witness. The husband and wife were indicted in June 2024 alongside former V.I. Housing Finance Authority executive Darin Richardson over an allegedly inflated disaster recovery contract awarded to Anselmi and McCollum’s company, Island Services Group, and subcontracted to the Charlemagnes.
Anselmi did not testify in Richardson’s trial last year, and the former VIHFA chief operating officer was found guilty of making material false statements to a federal agent, having a criminal conflict of interest, bank fraud, money laundering and making false statements on a loan application last year. Richardson’s sentencing is scheduled for late March.
At the same time, the case against the Charlemagnes stalled while attorneys sparred over the admissibility of Anselmi’s testimony. During the first part of a court-ordered deposition in April, Anselmi reportedly acknowledged that he was testifying in hopes of receiving immunity, leading to confusion over whether his immunity agreement pertained to the PPP case, his involvement in the Charlemagnes’ alleged scheme, or both. Senior District Judge Wilma Lewis later concluded that the agreement only covered the woodpile case and that “in the absence of a change in Anselmi’s potential criminal exposure which would permit him to fully answer Defendant’s cross-examination questions … without a legitimate fear of self-incrimination,” his testimony would be excluded from trial.
Since then, attorneys have repeatedly told the court that they’re close to reaching a plea deal in the PPP case. During a status conference in the Charlemagnes’ case two weeks ago, Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise George said a new immunity agreement “should be completed shortly,” allowing them to resume Anselmi’s deposition. Following a separate status conference, Anselmi and McCollum’s attorneys told the court that they had reached a resolution with the government and were in the process of having the documents signed by all parties.
“This matter does not need to be scheduled for trial,” they wrote in a Feb. 27 filing.
