JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal judge rejects Conrad Black request for new trial

[JURIST] US District Judge Amy St. Eve [official profile] of the Northern District of Illinois [official website] Monday rejected a motion [JURIST report] for a new trial or an acquittal filed by Canadian-born financier and former media mogul Conrad Black [JURIST news archive; CBC profile] in August after his conviction [JURIST report] on mail fraud and obstruction of justice charges in July. Former Hollinger executives John Boultbee, Peter Atkinson and Mark Kipnis, also convicted of fraud, similarly filed concurrent motions for new trials or acquittals in August. St. Eve Monday overturned one of Kipnis' mail fraud convictions, but affirmed all of the other convictions. All four defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on November 30. CTV News has more.

Black was accused [indictment, PDF] by the US government of diverting more than $80 million [JURIST report] from media company Hollinger International [corporate website] and its shareholders during the company's $2.1 billion sale of several hundred Canadian newspapers. He was found not guilty on separate charges of racketeering, wire fraud, and tax evasion. His conviction on the three mail fraud and obstruction of justice counts could lead to a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.

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