United States v. Monel Herscovici

I. INTRODUCTION

On July 30, 2021, plaintiff United States of America filed suit against defendant Monel Herscovici seeking to collect unpaid federal penalty assessments and interest. Dkt. 1 (‘Compl.”). The penalty assessments stem from defendant’s failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”) with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in the years 2008 through 2011. Id. The government now seeks to reduce those penalties to judgment pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 5321(a)(5). Dkt. 20 (“Mot.”). On September 8, 2021, after conducting a Westlaw public records search, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin Greene (““AUSA Greene”) sent copies of the summons and complaint in this action to the email address associated with defendant, as well as the five physical addresses associated with defendant within the two years prior to the search. Dkt. 12 at 4; Dkt. 12-2 (“Greene Decl.”) §] 5-6. The documents were returned, or the return receipts were not signed by defendant, and defendant did not contact AUSA Greene directly. Dkt. 12 at 4; Greene Decl. J 5-6. On September 10, 2021, AUSA Greene spoke by phone with attorney Ani Galyan, who acknowledged that she represented…