United States v. Juri Ripinsky, (Two Cases)

Juri Ripinsky appeals two separate district court orders, the first issued May 21, 1993, converting an ex parte restraining order into a preliminary injunction, the second issued August 11, 1993, converting a second ex parte restraining order into a preliminary injunction. Each restraint is pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853 but involves assets different from the other. As to each, Ripinsky argues that the government may not subject substitute assets to pretrial restraint and that the district court improperly relied solely on the indictment and hearsay evidence at the post-restraint hearing in violation of the due process and the confrontation clauses of the Constitution. We reverse the district court’s decisions and vacate the orders on the grounds that 21 U.S.C. § 853 does not permit the pretrial restraint of substitute assets.

FACTS

On April 29, 1993, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Ripinsky and two other defendants with violations of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and forfeiture statutes involving sums of approximately $2.3 million. The indictment alleged that Ripinsky and his code-fendants entered into joint venture agreements with…