EDA vs. Tran/ITFederal civil liability and counterclaim trial heads into third day with defense poised to call final series of witnesses

On Monday, July 25, the plaintiff “Warren Economic Development Authority” (aka EDA, WC EDA, FR-WC EDA) completed presentation of its case for liability for both compensatory and punitive damages during the morning session of its case against Truc “Curt” Tran and his ITFederal LLC company. Plaintiff counsel from the Sands Anderson law firm of Richmond, Virginia, called one witness after opening the day’s evidence with edited video of portions of two depositions they took from Tran, the first on October 8, 2021, the second three weeks later on November 1, 2021.

Both Tran’s responses to questions by plaintiff counsel at deposition and the testimony of the fourth and final plaintiff witness, former EDA Board of Directors member, Chairman, and Warren County Public Schools Superintendent Greg Drescher were presented to further the EDA contention Tran was an active participant and co-conspirator with former EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald in an effort to defraud the EDA into believing he had the means for follow through on promised development of 30 acres at the 147-acre Royal Phoenix portion of the former Avtex Superfund site. Primary among that fraudulent behavior according to the EDA theory of the case was the assertion ITFederal had secured a $140-million contract with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), as well as accessing a Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) grant related to job creation. Evidence indicated neither was true.

Drescher reiterated testimony from former EDA attorney Dan Whitten on the trial’s first day last Friday concerning former U.S. Virginia Sixth District Representative Robert “Bob” Goodlatte’s efforts to justify a $10-million loan to Tran and ITFederal as a positive public relations move, despite his assertion that Tran and his company didn’t really need the loan. Drescher added that due to the nature of how the loan was presented as a show of cooperation between Virginia EDA’s and the private sector, he had believed the money would be returned to the EDA in a number of months, rather than years. That belief led to acceptance of the idea brought to the EDA board by its executive director that Tran would be an “anonymous donor” in development of a police training academy to the tune of $8 million dollars that then-Sheriff Daniel McEathron was interested in developing here.

However, defense counsel Gregory Melus pointed out to Drescher on cross examination that the terms of the EDA-financed $10-million loan to Tran clearly states that the loan had a 30-year payback term written into it. During a 55-minute cross examination, Melus repeatedly pressed Drescher on the lack of oversight provided by the EDA Board of Directors that he claims made his client a victim, rather than a player in any conspiracy alleged by the EDA regarding the failed promises of development creating as many as 600 quality jobs related to a government contracted data center on the 30-acre ITFederal parcel at Avtex.

ITFederal fell short of its promise of a federally funded data center producing some 600 jobs, by 600 jobs and about 18,000 s.f. of building.

That fact, among other shortcomings he cited in direct evidence against his client, led Melus to move to strike the plaintiff’s case on the majority of claims against Tran and his company following the resting of the EDA case. However, after hearing both sides arguments in that regard, Judge Bruce D. Albertson overruled the defense motion to strike the plaintiff claims against Tran and his company. As it has in this month’s previous EDA civil liability trials, the court expressed the opinion that the plaintiff evidence presented was sufficient to let the jury decide on its weight, rather than the court midway thru the trial.

With the case thrown to it, the defense opened its witness testimony with a financial investor in ITFederal’s parent company American Commonwealth Regional Center (ACRC). Quincy Zhao testified that he invested $100,000 in ACRC due to its economic development plans related to the EB-5 Visa Program. The program, as previously noted, encourages foreign nationals investment in economic development in the U.S. in exchange for green cards for investor’s families. Zhao explained that wealthy investors from the four primary nations invested in the program, China, Vietnam, India, and Korea (he did not note a north or south), among others, often used the program to educate their children in America’s school system, particularly at the higher educational levels. Zhao noted that eventually Front Royal-Warren County were ruled ineligible to qualify for the EB-5 Visa Program, creating issues with ACRC and ITFederal being able to fund the project. The EB-5 Visa funding was believed still on the table when Goodlatte made his initial assertions to the EDA board about the viability of ITFederal to be a major job creator for this community.

File photo of then Va. 6th District Congressman Robert ‘Bob’ Goodlatte on a visit to Warren County. Goodlatte was an early champion of the promised ITFederal development at the former Avtex Superfund site.

Former County and EDA attorney Blair Mitchell was the defense’s second witness, first of two successive by remote hook up. Mitchell, Dan Whittens predecessor, was queried on his knowledge of difficulties in marketing redevelopment of the Avtex property as a developmentally limited, federal Superfund environmental reclamation project, compared to other EDA industrial and commercial properties. Having retired in April 2016, he was also questioned on his knowledge of McDonald’s work as EDA executive director and the EDA’s recruiting of ITFederal as the first commercial development project at the Avtex site.

In response to a question about whether McDonald or anyone with ITFederal had qualified the NRC $140-million contract as an IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity) federal contract, Mitchell replied, “No”. As plaintiff counsel has pointed out the IDIQ contract simply qualifies a company to bid on future federal contracts, guaranteeing nothing. In Tran’s second deposition video, asked about ACRC’s actual financial benefit from the $140 million NRC IDIQ contract, Tran replied $5,000. However, defense counsel has pointed to notations of “IDIQ” in some documents related to the ITFederal proposal to the EDA on Avtex Lot 6.

The defense’s second remote hook-up witness was James I. Marasco. After reviewing records of the EDA between 2014-17/18, from his home base in Rochester, New York, Marasco supported the defense contention that during that time period the EDA had very poor financial oversight and safeguards in place to prevent the type of financial misdeeds McDonald has been accused of. Marasco’s particular field of expertise is forensic auditing, he noted during direct examination.

A busy month on the EDA civil liability front is drawing to a close this week in the Warren County Courthouse.

Before dismissing the jury shortly after 5 p.m., Judge Albertson told them to expect to be in court later on Tuesday, to 6 p.m. or longer, despite the fact the case is still proceeding ahead of schedule. Due to a trip out of state for a real estate closing, final plaintiff witness and former EDA board member Ron Llewellyn is likely to open testimony at the trial on Tuesday prior to the defense calling its last series of witnesses, including defendant Truc “Curt” Tran. Defense counsel Melus has pointed out to the jury his client is not running away from questions about his role in the aborted ITFederal project at Avtex, as McDonald did in invoking her 5th Amendment right not to respond to questions at risk of self-incrimination during earlier testimony as a plaintiff witness.