By R. Robin McDonald, From Daily Report

A lawyer for a former Hindu temple leader in Georgia said the defendant “absolutely, unequivocally” will appeal his 27-year prison sentence for defrauding his followers and his temple’s creditors.

Don Samuel, one of several attorneys defending Hindu swami Annamalai Annamalai, said the prison term ordered Monday was “incredibly long” for an estimated fraud loss of about $500,000, which he said in most circumstances should have drawn a four-year sentence.

“It was not really a big fraud case,” he explained. But U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Batten approved multiple enhancements to the sentence suggested by federal sentencing guidelines over defense lawyers’ objections, Samuel said. Batten sentenced the 49-year-old Annamalai, also known as Dr. Commander Selvam, after three days of hearings. At federal prosecutors’ request, Batten also barred Annamalai from holding spiritual services for compensation either directly or through intermediaries.

The judge also prohibited Annamalai from filing “frivolous, abusive or malicious lawsuits” against former donors to and devotees of the Hindu temple in Norcross; victims of the fraud schemes for which he was convicted; any parties, creditors, lawyers, court personnel or the bankruptcy trustee associated with the Hindu temple’s bankruptcy; and all attorneys, government agents, court personnel and members of the jury involved in the criminal case.

Batten also recommended that Annamalai serve his sentence in a federal prison that houses inmates who have abused their telephone privileges and that restricts and monitors all calls. A hearing is planned on restitution, over whether and how much Annamalai may be ordered to pay as part of his sentence.

Samuel, who is working with Atlanta criminal defense attorney Bruce Harvey and public defender Kendal Silas on the case, said the judge’s bar on “frivolous” litigation is equivalent to saying Annamalai can’t commit any crimes. Previous litigation filed by Annamalai, he contended, “was seriously motivated, and some is meritorious, although some perhaps is not in hindsight,” Annamalai, he added, “never intentionally filed frivolous litigation. And if he plans to continue to file pro se litigation, I am sure he will be permitted to do so.”

Annamalai, an Indian national whose visa expired in 2008, was the president, chief executive officer and spiritual leader of the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Georgia until it filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2009.

In August, a federal jury convicted Annamalai of bank fraud, tax fraud and money laundering after a two-week trial. The jury also convicted Annamalai of obstruction and making false statements in connection with the grand jury investigation that preceded his indictment and the federal bankruptcy proceedings.

According to federal prosecutors and court records associated with the case, Annamalai charged fees to his followers at the temple in exchange for spiritual services. Most followers who were charged fees paid with a credit card number by telephone to guarantee payment. But on multiple occasions, Annamalai charged his followers’ credit cards in excess of the stated fees and without the cardholders’ authorization.

If anyone disputed the charges, prosecutors say that Annamalai submitted false documentation to the credit card companies to support the unauthorized charges he had billed.

Prosecutors also said that once the Hindu Temple filed for bankruptcy protection, Annamalai registered a new Hindu temple—the Shiva Vishnu Temple, which is now located in Baytown, Texas—and diverted credit card receipts and donations for the Georgia temple to the new Texas temple without the bankruptcy trustee’s knowledge or consent.

Prosecutors said Annamalai also used those diverted funds to pay mortgages on properties he owned and to make payments to himself.

Federal prosecutors had asked Batten to ban Annamalai from selling his spiritual services and from filing lawsuits because they said he had continued his “dogged” efforts to defraud potential victims via his Internet and magazine ads while he was awaiting trial in the custody of U.S. marshals.

The former spiritual leader also regularly flouted federal regulations regarding his telephone privileges while in the marshals’ custody, prosecutors said. Annamalai routinely used other detainees’ telephone access codes to place “countless” three-way and conference calls “to entrap additional potential victims in the very same scheme that resulted in his convictions,” prosecutors said in court papers filed before Annamalai was sentenced. Prosecutors also contended that Annamalai made calls that were intended to obstruct the investigation of the criminal charges against him.

Samuel, Annamalai’s defense counsel, said that while in custody, Annamalai continued to talk to his devotees who would call the temple seeking to speak with him. Temple personnel would then place a third-party call to Annamalai, the lawyer said.

“He had many people he continued to pray with, to provide spiritual advice to. He would read horoscopes for people,” Samuel said. “It wasn’t really hidden.”

“He was not cold-calling people,” he continued. “He was not a telemarketer. … As far as I know, there was only one person over the course of 13 months who complained, and he had dozens and dozens and dozens of followers he stayed in touch with while he was in jail.”

Prosecutors also sought to prevent Annamalai from filing multiple new lawsuits against victims of his crime schemes and anyone associated with his prosecution, arguing that he had an “extensive history” of using frivolous litigation to intimidate his fraud victims and cause them additional financial losses by forcing them to defend against his groundless allegations.

At the time the Georgia temple filed for bankruptcy, Annamalai had 26 active lawsuits on file in federal and state courts in Georgia. Annamalai had also filed suits against attorneys, the bankruptcy trustee overseeing the Georgia temple bankruptcy, and the media, prosecutors said.

Last year, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. issued an order in an adversary proceedings stemming from the temple bankruptcy that barred the district court clerk from docketing any of Annmalai’s pro se court filings in that case without the judge’s permission. Thrash issued the order after denying Annamalai’s motions for sanctions against the bankruptcy trustee and his counsel, adding that the motions “have nothing to do with this case.”

IMAGE: Don Samuel John Disney/Daily Report

For more on this story go to: http://www.dailyreportonline.com/id=1202723481165/Lawyer-Promises-Appeal-of-27Year-Sentence-by-Former-Hindu-Temple-Leader#ixzz3Xacw6HFF